Travelers’ Rest was a pivotal site of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Unable to find a water route to the Pacific, the Corps paused here for two days. Before them was the most arduous part of their journey over the Lolo Trail.
The lush landscape and abundant wildlife have drawn people to the Livingston, Montana area for over 11,000 years. When Meriwether Lewis and William Clark camped here in July 1806, they too were impressed by the fair waters of the Yellowstone River, marveling at the natural beauty surrounding them as they discussed their plans for the next leg of their journey.
When they reached the confluence of the Missouri and Marias Rivers, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark needed to decide which river would take them to the Shoshone people and over the Rocky Mountains.
Nez Perce people recommended that Meriwether Lewis take the well-traveled road that they called Qoq’aalx ‘Iskit, or the Road to the Buffalo, on their way to the great falls of the Missouri River.
In 1806, William Clark carved his name into a sandstone outcropping next to the Yellowstone River, next to petroglyphs that the Crow and other Indigenous people had carved on these rocks for thousands of years.
