Introduction
Scientists are still debating with historians about the date of  the foundation of the settlement on the site of the present town of  Engels. But in spite of this fact, the official history of  Pokrovskaya Sloboda primarily related to salt production, to lake Alta-nor (the Golden lake), now known as Lake Elton. 
We, members of the Club of the Local history of School № 33, have decided to take the historical way of  Pokrovsky salt traders from Engels to Lake Elton, that was the purpose of our work. 
And tasks are:
• study how Eltonsky way has changed;
• determine what Lake Elton is now (it has received the status of the Nature Park);
• study the review of the literature on the topic.
Before the trip we spoke with the workers of the Engels Museum of the Local History, studied the collections of the Museum about the history of the salt trade, including the cartographic materials. Unfortunately, there are not many publications in scientific literature on this topic.
The organizer of the first expedition – a local historian, a member of the Union of the Writers of Russia, the editor of the weekly newspaper "Novaya Gazeta", Alexander Burmistrov became our tour guide on a trip to the Elton.
All the photos presented in this paper are made by the authors themselves. 
So, we invite you on a journey into the territory of the Nature Park "Eltonsky".