The National Pony Express Association will conduct its annual re-ride of the Pony Express Trail from St. Joseph, Mo., to Sacramento June 17-27.

This ride is 24 hours a day, nonstop by more than 600 riders and horses covering the 1,966 mile route of the Pony Express National Historic Trail from Missouri through Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada to California.

The event commemorates the 1860-1861 Central Overland and California Pikes Peak Express Company which carried letters and telegrams for 19 months to prove the Central Route through Salt Lake passable year-round. The owners hoped to win a federal mail contract on that route. Pony Express history is preserved in the federally designated Historic Trail, administered by the National Park Service, in museums, Pony Rider monuments, books, and the annual recreations by the NPEA.

Riders will pass in front of Harrah’s Lake Tahoe at Friday’s Station to exchange the Mochila on June 26 at 11:30am.

Note: Anyone wishing to see the Pony Express riders should be aware that they may be anywhere from two hours ahead to two hours behind schedule.

Today, part of the Pony Express Trail route is a multi-use trail located near Sierra-at-Tahoe.

There are a few relay stations in South Lake Tahoe. One at Friday’s Station, just east of Harrah’s casino where the statue is today, and two others out in Meyers by Lira’s Market and the Hawley Grade Trail. Another station is located at Woodfords near Markleeville.