The Applegate Trail wagon route, opened by Jesse and Lindsey Applegate in 1846, crossed the southern end of the Goose Lake Valley. Pioneers traveling on the Applegate Trail, descended into the valley from the Warner Mountains through Fandango Pass, arriving at the valley floor near the mouth of Davis Creek. From there, they headed south along the east shore of Goose Lake. At the south end of the lake, the trail forked. The Applegate Trail rounded the south end of the lake and continued west toward the Klamath country of southern Oregon. The other fork, known as the Lassen Cutoff, headed south across Devil's Garden and then followed the Pit River to the Sacramento Valley.