MONTANA
LEWIS & CLARK TRAIL

A heroic-sized bronze statue of Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea, and her infant son anchors this historic river town's Lewis and Clark Memorial. Fort Benton is the launch point for the 149-mile Wild and Scenic Missouri River segment of the National Historic Trail and the western gateway to the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument. The walking tour passes the old steamboat levee, two museums, and the ruins of the historic fort, telling the story of the river town that grew up along the expedition's route decades later.

One of the most spectacular and least-changed stretches of the entire Lewis and Clark Trail — 149 miles of free-flowing Missouri River through dramatic badlands, sandstone formations, and the famous 'White Cliffs' that Lewis described in his journal as resembling ancient ruins and statuary. The landscape here looks essentially identical to what the Corps of Discovery saw in May 1805. Best experienced by multi-day canoe trip, though scenic overlooks provide access for those without watercraft.

One of the most consequential navigational decisions of the entire expedition took place here, where the Marias River joins the Missouri. With no maps and only secondhand directions from the Hidatsa, the captains faced a major unmarked fork. Most of the men believed the wider, muddier north fork was the true Missouri. Lewis and Clark disagreed, reasoning the clearer, swifter south fork was the mountain stream they sought. They split the party to scout both rivers for over a week before correctly choosing the south fork — a decision that, had it gone wrong, could have doomed the entire mission.

Native peoples used this mile-long sandstone cliff for buffalo hunting drives for at least two thousand years before Lewis and Clark passed through the region in 1805. Remnants of drive lines remain visible atop the cliff, with the remains of millions of processed bison below. An interpretive trail, shelters, and a protected black-tailed prairie dog town help visitors understand the deep Native history of the high plains the expedition crossed.

One of Montana's finest museums, perched on a bluff overlooking the site of the expedition's grueling month-long portage around the five waterfalls of the Missouri River. A two-story diorama depicts the portage in vivid detail, alongside exhibits on encounters with Plains nations and impressive documentary films. It was near here that Lewis identified the cutthroat trout (now Montana's state fish), the western meadowlark (the state bird), and the broadleaf cottonwood — all new to science. Essential first stop in the Great Falls area.

Home to one of the largest freshwater springs in the United States, discharging nearly 156 million gallons per day. Lewis noted the spring in his journal during the brutal weeks of the Great Falls portage. Today the park offers a peaceful, scenic counterpoint to the hardships the Corps endured nearby — walking trails, a fish hatchery, and river overlooks make this one of the most pleasant stops on the entire Montana trail.

One of several designated campsites and natural features documented by the expedition during their excruciating month at the Great Falls portage. The mineral spring provided fresh water during a period when the men were enduring cactus spines, prickly pear injuries, exhausting portage labor, and at least one terrifying grizzly bear encounter that sent Lewis fleeing into the river. A modest but historically rich stop within the broader Great Falls/portage interpretive area.

A dramatic 400-foot sandstone formation that Lewis named 'the Tower' in his journal entry of July 16, 1805, describing it as marking the gap where the Missouri makes its passage from the mountains. Lewis climbed it and recorded immense herds of buffalo visible in the plains below — one of the last great bison sightings before the expedition entered the mountains. The rock can still be climbed with some difficulty, rewarding visitors with the same 'most pleasing view' Lewis described over two centuries ago.

Lewis named this spectacular Missouri River canyon north of Helena for the 1,200-foot limestone cliffs that create the optical illusion of a gate opening as boats approach. Lewis wrote that it was as if 'the rocks seemed ready to tumble on us.' Today narrated two-hour boat tours showcase the canyon's towering walls, guarded by bighorn sheep and mountain goats — one of the most visually spectacular and easily accessible Lewis and Clark sites in the entire state.

This quaint southwest Montana town has embraced its Lewis and Clark heritage with a vibrant collection of large outdoor murals depicting the expedition's journey through this stretch of Montana. A worthwhile walking stop between Helena and the Three Forks area, blending modern artistic tribute with the historical journey the Corps documented two centuries earlier.

Montana's very first state park, easily accessible off I-90 between Three Forks and Whitehall. One of the largest limestone cave systems in the Pacific Northwest, with guided tours revealing extraordinary stalactites, stalagmites, and columns. Though the expedition didn't discover the caverns themselves, the park sits directly along their route up the Jefferson River, and the name honors the explorers whose journey opened this region to later discovery.

One of the most significant geographical sites on the entire expedition. On July 25, 1805, the Corps reached the headwaters of the Missouri River, where three rivers converge. The captains named each for prominent American leaders: the Jefferson (for the President), the Madison (for the Secretary of State), and the Gallatin (for the Secretary of the Treasury). Lewis wrote of forming camp 'on the point formed by the junction of the two large rivers.' The site was also a vital meeting ground for the Flathead, Bannock, and Shoshone nations long before the expedition arrived. Hiking trails along the bluffs and excellent interpretive signage make this an essential stop.

A small-town museum in Three Forks providing local historical context for the Missouri Headwaters area, including exhibits related to the Lewis and Clark expedition's pivotal week spent here in late July 1805 deciding their route into the mountains ahead. A good complement to a visit to the nearby Headwaters State Park.

A natural rock formation resembling the head of a swimming beaver, identified by Sacagawea on August 8, 1805 as a landmark near the summer camp of her people, the Shoshone. Her recognition of this rock gave the expedition crucial hope that they were nearing the Shoshone nation, from whom they desperately needed to acquire horses to cross the mountains ahead. One of the most personally significant moments of Sacagawea's contribution to the expedition's survival.

On August 13, 1805, Clark climbed this bluff above the Beaverhead River to survey the route ahead, taking compass bearings that are still documented at the site today through interpretive signage and a monument showing his actual readings. A modest but historically precise site that demonstrates the meticulous navigational methods the captains used throughout the journey — methods that produced remarkably accurate maps given the era's limited tools.

Dillon's county museum chronicles the broader Corps of Discovery story as the expedition approached the most dangerous and uncertain phase of their westward journey — the crossing of the Continental Divide. Exhibits provide local historical context alongside displays on the area's ranching and mining heritage that followed in the expedition's wake.

Now submerged beneath Clark Canyon Reservoir, this was the site of Camp Fortunate — where Lewis successfully made contact with the Shoshone nation and negotiated for the horses the expedition needed to cross the mountains. It was also here that Sacagawea was joyously reunited with her brother, whom she had not seen since being captured by the Hidatsa years earlier. An overlook above the reservoir marks the historic location, one of the most emotionally significant sites on the entire trail.

On August 12, 1805, Meriwether Lewis became the first member of the expedition to cross the Continental Divide here, looking west and expecting to see the Columbia River — instead finding range after range of the Bitterroot Mountains stretching to the horizon. The moment shattered any hope of an easy water route to the Pacific. Lewis wrote that he drank from a small stream, believing it to be the source of the mighty Missouri River. The remote gravel pass straddles the Montana-Idaho border and remains one of the most profound and historically pivotal sites on the entire 4,900-mile trail.

While not a direct Lewis and Clark expedition site, this battlefield commemorates the 1877 Nez Perce War, fought by descendants of the very nation that saved the Corps of Discovery from starvation in 1805 by sharing food and guiding them across the Lolo Trail. The site offers a sobering connection between the expedition's reliance on Nez Perce hospitality and the tragic later history of broken treaties and forced removal that followed American westward expansion.

One of the finest regional museums in the Northern Rockies, with exhibits spanning the region's natural and human history, including context on the Lewis and Clark expedition's passage through the broader Yellowstone watershed. Bozeman serves as a convenient lodging base and launching point for exploring the cluster of Lewis and Clark sites in southwest Montana.

The single most tangible piece of physical evidence from the entire Lewis and Clark Expedition. On his return journey down the Yellowstone River on July 25, 1806, William Clark climbed this sandstone butte and carved his name and the date directly into the rock — the only place on the entire 4,900-mile trail where an original, verified expedition signature survives in situ. Clark named the formation 'Pompy's Tower' after Sacagawea's young son Jean Baptiste, whom he affectionately called 'Pomp.' Boardwalks lead up to the protected inscription, with sweeping views of the Yellowstone River Valley from the summit and a well-designed visitor center at the base.

The site of the only violent conflict between the Corps of Discovery and Native peoples during the entire expedition. On July 27, 1806, Lewis and three men encountered eight Blackfeet (Piegan) warriors near here. An attempt to steal the party's guns and horses during the night turned deadly — two Blackfeet men were killed, the only Native casualties of the entire journey. It also marked the first documented conflict between an agent of the American government and the Blackfeet Nation, with consequences that shaped US-Blackfeet relations for generations. A historic marker commemorates the site today.

The only confirmed Lewis and Clark campsite on the entire trail where physical, scientifically verified archaeological evidence has been found — including mercury residue from the expedition's medicine, confirming the precise location. The Corps camped here both outbound in September 1805, preparing for the brutal crossing of Lolo Trail, and again on their return in late June 1806, where the party split into two groups to explore different routes home. A modest but profoundly important site — the only place on the trail where science, not just journal entries, confirms exactly where the expedition stood.

Straddling the Montana-Idaho border at the gateway to the Bitterroot Mountains, this visitor center marks the start of one of the most harrowing stretches of the entire journey. The Corps endured snow, near-starvation, and brutal terrain crossing the Lolo Trail in September 1805 — Patrick Gass called the mountains simply 'the most terrible' they encountered. Interpretive exhibits and sweeping mountain views convey the scale of the challenge that nearly broke the expedition before the Nez Perce nation came to their aid on the other side.