Forgotten Trail

Photo: Creative Commons

Lewiston, Idaho and Clarkston, Washington share the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers. You’ll find many sites in the sister cities, including the Lewis and Clark Garden and Riverfront Timeline in Clarkston.

South of the Snake, along the part of the Expedition’s return trip known as the “Forgotten Trail,” you’ll find the Patit Creek Campsite Sculptures, outside Dayton. As shown in today’s photo, there are over 80 life-size steel sculptures erected in the valley representing the how the Corps encampment may have appeared in May 1806.

Outside Dayton is Lewis and Clark State Park, a rare old-growth forest setting along the Touchet River. Here is a mini rain forest climate, as well as the long-leaf Ponderosa Pine, and cottonwoods.

The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail has identified nine High Potential Historic Sites in Washington, including the Snake River Confluence, Celilo Falls Portage, Beacon Rock, Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, Dismal Nitch, Middle Village/Station Camp, the Walla Walla River Confluence, and the Lewis and Clark Travois Road.

The Washington State Park website offers an excellent overview of many of the Lewis and Clark sites, with plenty of valuable and interesting information: http://parks.state.wa.us/192/History-of-the-journey-through-Washington.

Lewis and Clark NHT Visitor Centers and Museums

This map shows a range of features associated with the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, which commemorates the 1803-1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition. The trail spans a large portion of the North American continent, from the Ohio River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon. The trail is comprised of the historic route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, an auto tour route, high potential historic sites (shown in black), visitor centers (shown in orange), and pivotal places (shown in green). These features can be selected on the map to reveal additional information. Also shown is a base map displaying state boundaries, cities, rivers, and highways. The map conveys how a significant area of the North American continent was traversed by the Lewis and Clark Expedition and indicates the many places where visitors can learn about their journey and experience the landscape through which they traveled.