• photo of a replica keelboat with a crew member on the bow at sunset

    Lewis & Clark

    National Historic Trail ID,IL,IA,KS,MO,MT,NE,ND,OR,SD,WA

From the Plains to the Pacific

Between May 1804 and September 1806, 31 men, one woman, and a baby traveled from the plains of the Midwest to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. They called themselves the Corps of Discovery. In their search for a water route to the Pacific Ocean, they opened a window into the west for the young United States.

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Features

  • Portrait of William Clark by Charles Wilson Peale

    Who Were They?

    William Clark, Sacagawea, York, Thomas Jefferson - names forever linked by a journey to the Pacific Ocean. Who were the people behind these names?

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  • A metal sentinel of a Mandan, Hidatsa, or Arikara Indian guiding visitors to the Earth Lodge Village of the Three Affiliated Tribes of New Town, North Dakota

    Explore the Trail

    The Trail winds over mountains, along rivers, through plains and high deserts, and extends to the wave-lapped Pacific coast. Experience the diversity.

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  • A sacred salmon bake hosted by the Chinook Indian Nation

    Trail News

    The Trail Companion is our way of celebrating the great work of Trail partners and stewards. It also is a way for Trail staff to share resources.

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  • Lewis and Clark staff with staff of Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center of Ilwaco, WA

    Helping Partners

    The Trail is committed to building true relations with all people, to learn from them, and to tell their stories with sensitivity and respect.

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Did You Know?

Pressed plant from Expedition, now at the Academy of Natural Sciences

The Corps of Discovery didn’t discover anything. Everything the Corps reported on- plants, animals, landforms - had been known to and used by American Indian tribes for generations. The Corps were, however, the first to record these items for science.