 During the 1860s , gold strikes in Montana , Colorado , Wyoming and northern Utah attracted another wave of hopefuls to the region . Although some freight was hauled overland , most transport to and from the gold fields was done through the Missouri and Kansas Rivers , as well as the Snake River in western Wyoming and the Bear River in Utah , Idaho and Wyoming . It is estimated that of the passengers and freight hauled from the Midwest to Montana , over 80 percent were transported by boat , a journey that took 150 days in the upstream direction . A route more directly west into Colorado lay along the Kansas River and its tributary the Republican River as well as pair of smaller Colorado streams , Big Sandy Creek and the South Platte River , to near Denver . The gold rushes precipitated the decline of the Bozeman Trail as a popular emigration route , as it passed through land held by often @-@ hostile Native Americans . Safer paths were blazed to the Great Salt Lake near Corinne , Utah during the gold rush period , which led to the large @-@ scale settlement of the Rocky Mountains region and eastern Great Basin . 
 During the 1860s , gold strikes in Montana , Colorado , Wyoming and northern Utah attracted another wave of hopefuls to the region . Although some freight was hauled overland , most transport to and from the gold fields was done through the Missouri and Kansas Rivers , as well as the Snake River in western Wyoming and the Bear River in Utah , Idaho and Wyoming . It is estimated that of the passengers and freight hauled from the Midwest to Montana , over 80 percent <a href='uninflect' title='1'><mark>were</mark></a> transported by boat , a journey <a href='null_relcl' title='2'><mark>that</mark></a>took 150 days in the upstream direction . A route more directly west into Colorado lay along the Kansas River and its tributary the Republican River as well as pair of smaller Colorado streams , Big Sandy Creek and the South Platte River , to near Denver . The gold <a href='uninflect' title='3'><mark>rushes</mark></a> precipitated the decline of the Bozeman Trail as a popular emigration route , as it passed through land held by often @-@ hostile Native Americans . Safer paths <a href='uninflect' title='4'><mark>were</mark></a> blazed to the Great Salt Lake near Corinne , Utah during the gold rush period , which led to the large @-@ scale settlement of the Rocky Mountains region and eastern Great Basin . 
During the 1860s , gold strikes in Montana , Colorado , Wyoming and northern Utah attracted anotha wave of hopefuls to the region . Although some freight was hauled overland , most transport to and from da gold fields was done through tdaMissouri and Kansas Rivers , as well as thdanake River in western Wyoming and thedaar River in Utah , Idaho and Wyoming . It is estimated dat of the dasengers and freight hauled from the Midwest to Montana , over 80 percent was transported by boat , a journey took 150 days in the udaream direction . A route more directly west into Colorado lay along the Kadas River and its tributary the Repdaican River as well as pair of smaller Colorado streams , bigg Sandy Creek and the South Platte River , to near Denver . The gold rush precipitated the declda of the BozemdaTrail as a popular emigration route , as it passed thru land held by often @-@ hostile Native Americans . Safer paths was blazed to the Great dat Lake near Corinne , Utah durin the gold rush period , which led to the large @dascale settlement of the Rocky Mountains region and eastern Great Basin .