How long did it take to get to California in the 1800s?

A voyage from the East Coast to California around Cape Horn was 17,000 miles long and could easily take five months. There was a shorter alternative: sailing to Panama, crossing the isthmus by foot or horseback, and sailing to California from Central America's Pacific Coast.



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By 1850, the fastest and most popular sea route consisted of three parts: a steamship from New York to Chagres; overland across the Isthmus; and a steamship from Panama City to San Francisco. Over 6,000 miles and 33 to 35 days, travelers faced malaria, yellow-fever, and highway robbers.

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1860s Steamship-Railroad-Steamship: 25-30 days. The New Orleans-San Francisco trip took twenty-five days, while the New York-San Francisco trip took 30 days.

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We know that it took them around 4-5 months, that is between 120-170 days (depending on where in California). In 1861, the Pony Express (or lone horse riders) claimed that it would take 10 days to deliver letters from New York to Sacramento.

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A voyage from the East Coast to California around Cape Horn was 17,000 miles long and could easily take five months. There was a shorter alternative: sailing to Panama, crossing the isthmus by foot or horseback, and sailing to California from Central America's Pacific Coast.

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The journey across overland trails took settlers 2,000 miles and around seven months to complete. Most groups traveled at a pace of fifteen miles a day. Few traveled the overland trails alone; most settlers traveled with their families.

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By 1857, which is still within one lifetime from someone born around 1800, travel by rail (the fastest way to get around at the time — remember that the Wright brothers were not even born yet and air travel was far off in the future) had gotten significantly faster.

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