The Oregon Trail is a 14-episode NBC western television series starring Rod Taylor as the widower Evan Thorpe, who leaves his Illinois farm in 1842 to take the Oregon Trail to the Pacific Northwest. The show also starred Andrew Stevens, Tony Becker, and Gina Marie Smika as Thorpe's children. Darleen Carr starred as Margaret Devlin, one of the passengers on the wagon train, and Charles Napier portrayed Luther Sprague, a frontier scout recruited by Thorpe. The series was filmed in the Flagstaff, Arizona area.

Ein Treck zieht durch die endlose Weite der Prärie nach Westen. Das Ziel ist Oregon. Nur einer der wahemutigsten Pioniere, der Scout, kennt den Weg. Unterwegs nimmt William, der 12jährige Sohn des Treckführers Thorpe, von einer Kultstätte der Indianer einen Speer mit, ohne zu ahnen, welche Folgen es hat: Die Indianer greifen den Treck an.

Le vicende si svolgono nel vecchio West, in Oregon nell'anno 1842. Il reverendo Evan Thorpe (Rod Taylor) è il personaggio principale, impegnato a migrare con la sua famiglia verso l'ovest tramite la pista dell'Oregon. Altri personaggi sono i figli di Thorpe, il bambino dodicenne William e la bambina di sette anni Rachel, il ragazzo diciassettenne Andrew e Luther Sprague, un esploratore.