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THE LEWIS AND CLARK NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL
16 STATES
4,900 MILES
60 TRIBAL NATIONS
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PRODUCED IN 2024
BY THE
LEWIS & CLARK TRAIL ALLIANCE
RICHARD HUNT
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Richard Hunt
Lewis & Clark Trail Alliance
Lewis and Clark Trail Experience
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Even more fun
Embark on a journey like no other along the Lewis and Clark
National Historic Trail! Stretching across over 4,900 miles and
16 states, this iconic route retraces the steps of the legendary
explorers, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Whether you're
a history enthusiast, nature lover, or adventure seeker, the
Trail offers something for everyone.
On the Trail you can walk in the footsteps of history, visit
some of the most stunning and diverse landscapes in the
country, enjoy outdoors in pristine environments that have
changed little since Lewis and Clark’s time, and engage with
vibrant communities that celebrate their heritage with
festivals, museums, and cultural events.
Don't just read about history—live it! Plan your adventure on
the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail today and create
memories that will last a lifetime. Whether it's a weekend
getaway or an epic road trip, the Trail promises an
unforgettable experience for all who dare to explore it.
The passage through the Columbia River Gorge by the Lewis and Clark Expedition between 28
October and 3 November 1805 was as geologically noteworthy as any seven-day period
experienced by the Corps of Volunteers for North Western Discovery.
Their roughly 67-mile transit from The Dalles in present-day Oregon to the Sandy River bore
fresh evidence of gigantic landslides, drowned forests, and disruptive volcanic eruptions.
COLUMBIA GORGE
SACAJAWEA HISTORICAL STATE PARK
At the confluence of the Snake and Columbia rivers,
the Sacajawea Historical State Park and Interpretive
Center in Pasco, Washington, offer an excellent
opportunity for hands-on learning and exploration.
The Interpretive Center is open year round for visitors
and school field trips.
Lewis and Clark first passed by here on 16 October
1805. Because of its significance as a well-
established gathering place for Native peoples, the
explorers knew where they were for the first time
since entering uncharted territory.
Story Circles
Maya Lin’s artwork at Sacajawea Historic State Park tells the tales of people, place, and the
connection between them in text etched into seven circles, some raised above and some lowered into
the ground. The information in the story circles comes from tribal stories, Lewis and Clark’s journals,
Yakama-elder and Sahaptin-speaker Virginia Beavert, PhD, and the natural history of this site, which
has been a gathering place for Native people for more than 10,000 years.
“What the Confluence Project [intends] is to reveal the
deeper history of the place. Go out and read each
Story Circle. Each one frames and tells you a little bit
more about this place in terms of the Native American
tribes who came here, and this was a very important
place for them.”
– Maya Lin
CARGO OF LEWIS AND CLARK
A detailed, one-of-a-kind exhibit draws
on 16 years of researching the cargo
and launch of the Lewis and Clark
Expedition. The Corps of Discovery
carried 30 tons of supplies and
equipment across the continent.
Ken Karsmizki’s archaeological
search for Lewis and Clark began in
Montana 1986 and his methodology
led to the first Lewis and Clark site
conclusively identified based on
physical evidence at Lower Portage
Camp near Great Falls, Montana.
At the REACH Museum we inspire learning by sharing the
stories of the Mid-Columbia River Region, its people, and
its impact and contributions to the world.
Our vision is to be an indispensable educational resource
and premier cultural destination that serve as a gateway
for understanding the natural and cultural significance of
the region for present and future generations.
REACH MUSEUM
As the Corps prepared for this part of their voyage, their Nez Perce escorts, the chiefs Twisted
Hair and Tetoharsky, announced they were returning home because, from this point, they no longer
could serve as diplomats and interpreters. From when the Expedition left the Rocky ountains behind,
these chiefs had voluntarily traveled with them, going ahead to introduce the White strangers to
Columbia Plateau tribes who spoke languages related to theirs.
The Gorge’s physical barriers roughly demarcated the line between Sahaptin and Chinookan cultures
and language families. As the captains understood the two Nez Perces, they were at war with tribes
downstream and urged the Corps to prepare to withstand attack from these nations. After the
Expedition successfully passed the string of waterfalls and rapids, it encountered a third facet to
this major physical and cultural divider: below the Cascades of the Columbia, they left the arid lands
of the Columbia Plateau.
Moving quickly downstream in the
autumn of 1805—even though slowed by
the portages—the Corps passed through
the region between the Deschutes River
and the Cascades of the Columbia in 13
days. Native reactions ranged from
terror to insolence and threat, far
different from the hearty welcomes
recently received from the Lemhi
Shoshones, Salish, and Nez Perces.
Returning in the spring of 1806, when
the Corps’ passage up this stretch of
river lasted 22 days, they would learn
more about what sharp traders they
found thenselves among.
In the third week of October 1805, the Corps of
Discovery reached a many-faceted barrier as they
paddled downstream into the Columbia River
Gorge. Just west past the Deschutes River, they
faced Celilo Falls which required a portage.
The falls proved to be the beginning of 50-some
river miles that also held the Short and Long
Narrows (jointly called The Dalles), and ended
with the lengthy Cascades of the Columbia.
CELILO FALLS
The Dalles Dam
The Dalles Dam was built between 1952 and 1960. It impounds a 24-mile-long slackwater pool called
Lake Celilo, which covers the sites of the Celilo Falls as well as the Short and Long Narrows. Its
navigation lock is capable of lifting river traffic as much as 90 feet above the level of Lake
Bonneville.
Quiet Reach
Between the Great (Celilo) Falls and the head of what Clark called the “Great Shoot” was a 40-mile
stretch of river littered–during the low-water season–with “large ruged rocks,” the detritus of a
landslide that some 7,000 years ago blocked the water’s path through the Cascade Range toward the
Pacific. Seen from an altitude of approximately 1,200 feet in the early-morning hours, the modernized
Columbia River is as placid as it looks, although by 10:00 a.m., as the hot-air thermals from the
Columbia Plateau begin to draw cool marine air through the Gorge, a mighty wind still cranks upriver
against the current at anywhere from 20 to 30 mph, raising waves four to six feet high, and even
higher on “Nuclear” wind days. That was the power the Expedition succumbed to on several days in
April 1806, a force surely as maddening as the inescapable plagues of fleas and body-lice. “The river
rose 8 Inches to day from what cause I cannot Say certainly,” he wrote on 26 October 1805, “as the
tides cannot effect the river here as there is a falls below. I conjecture that the rise is owing to the
winds which has Set up the river for 24 hours past.” He was probably correct, although the condition
would have been exceptional for that time of year as the normal daily winds are easterly from
September through early April.
Now the fleas and lice are gone, but those same spring-summer winds now make the city of Hood
River–which is roughly half way between the now-submerged Dalles and the smoothed-over Cascades
of the Columbia–the “wind surfing capital of the world.” No longer are rugged rocks the dreaded
obstacles they once were. Today it’s the risk of being swamped by towering waves or drowned
beneath a string of barges, which make the wise wind-surfer and para-surfer cautious.
Hood River is situated at the mouth of the southern tributary of the same name, which Lewis and
Clark called “River Labiche” for Private François Labiche, the half-French, half-Omaha voyageur
whom the captains regarded highly as a riverman, hunter, and, especially, interpreter.
Bonneville Dam
Bonneville Dam, begun in 1933 and completed ten years later, was the first dam to be built on the
Columbia River. The slackwater pool it impounds, called Lake Bonneville, eliminated the Cascades as
a barrier to commercial shipping and provided a deep, navigable channel for barges and tugs
throughout its 48-mile length. The lift-lock, near the southeast riverbank, raises vessels as much as
60 feet. The river is considered to be at tidewater level although, as Clark observed, it was then
measurable only when the river was at its lowest. Tides are scarcely perceptible in any season now.
TAMING THE MIGHTY COLUMBIA
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In going down the Columbia River, the explorers had looked forward to a relatively easy float from the
Continental Divide to the Pacific Ocean. On the contrary, of all the rough water the journalists recorded,
the roughest of all was the 55-mile stretch that began with the 38-foot Celilo Falls at the east end of the
Columbia Gorge. Next came The Dalles, at the modern-day Oregon city of the same name, consisting of
the quarter-mile long Short Narrows which Clark called an “agitated gut Swelling, boiling & whorling in
every direction.”
Below that came three miles of the equally dangerous Long Narrows. After a three-day respite at “Fort
Rock Camp,” they tackled the final obstacle, the Cascades of the Columbia, or “Grand Rapids,” four
continuous miles of chutes and falls that required two days to descend. We are left only to imagine
their experiences, for today all this been submerged under slow-moving waters impounded by John Day,
The Dalles, and Bonneville dams.
Most remarkable of all was the dense population of Indians strung out along the riverbanks, or
concentrated in trading centers reeking with the smell of drying salmon and resounding with the
rattle of unfamiliar languages: the Yakamas, Wanapums, Walla Wallas, Umatillas, Wascos and
Wishrams, Teninos, Watlalas, Multnomahs, Kathlamets, and Wahkiakums. Some of them were
congenial enough toward the American tourists, but most, especially in the Short and Long Narrows
of the Columbia River, were tough, scrappy traders accustomed for centuries to exacting tolls from
all travelers. Within the past few years their exchanges with coastal Indians had brought them Euro-
American goods: wool clothing and blankets, brass and copper kettles, and a few guns.
ROCK FORT
Umatilla is derived from the name of a winter village at the mouth of the Umatilla, ímatilam meaning ‘rocky
place’ or ‘lots of rocks’. Whenever mounted Paiutes raided, they retreated to Blalock Island, now inundated.
After emerging from the Wallula Gap on 19 October 1805, Clark came across some Umatillas hiding in their
lodges, and he committed a serious faux pas by entering without permission:
found the Indians much fritened, all got in to their lodges and I went in found Some hanging down their
heads, Some Crying and others in great agitation, I took all by the hand, and distributed a few Small articles
which I chanced to have in my Pockets and Smoked with them which expelled their fears, . . . I am confident
that I could have tomahawked every Indian here.
Things went better, according to Clark, when they saw Sacagawea and baby Jean Baptiste, whose presence
“confirmed those people of our friendly intentions, as no woman ever accompanies a war party of Indians in
this quarter.” In the evening, they smoked together and Pierre Cruzatte and George Gibson “played on the
violin which delighted them greatly.”
UMATILLA