Road to the Buffalo-Alice Creek

This 1908 photograph, taken by Edward Curtis, shows Gros Ventre families traveling with horse.

Library of Congress

Quick Facts

Significance:

Nez Perce people told Meriwether Lewis about this well-traveled trail that Indigenous people had used for generations. Lewis and several members of his crew traveled on this road in 1806.

Designation:

Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, National Register of Historic Places (Alice Creek Historic District)

Amenities

5 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Parking - Auto, Picnic Table, Toilet - Vault/Composting, Trailhead

Nez Perce people told Meriwether Lewis and William Clark about a well-traveled trail that would take them back to the great falls of the Missouri River. It had deep ruts and would be easy even for anyone to follow, even these visitors who were not familiar with the area.

The Nez Perce name for the trail was Qoq’aalx ‘Iskit, or the Road to the Buffalo, since it took travelers from the mountains to the plains, where large bison herds lived.  

Indigenous people had used this trail for thousands of years, and migrating wildlife had used it for thousands more. Kootenai, Salish, Blackfeet, Crow, and Shoshone people also traveled on this path. They brought horses and carried loads with travois, a horse cart made with two long sticks. They followed the trail to hunt bison and to trade with other communities connected by this and adjoining trails.

A traveler could see signs of those who came before them: ruts in the ground, trees with bark peeled off, and rock cairns. 

Nez Perce people explained to Lewis that, at one point, “the roads forked  they recommended the left hand as the best rout but said they would both lead us to the falls of the Missouri.” Nez Perce and other Indigenous people had traveled this trail for generations. It was so well-worn that they trusted these total outsiders—who usually needed to hire local guides to help them get around—to be able to find and follow the route themselves.  

About this article: This article is part of a series called “Pivotal Places: Stories from the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.”

Lewis and Clark NHT Visitor Centers and Museums

Visitor Centers (shown in orange), High Potential Historic Sites (shown in black), and Pivotal Places (shown in green) along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail