| Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail | |
|---|---|
 Map of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail in 2015 before it was expanded east into Pennsylvania | |
| Location | Pennsylvania,Ohio,West Virginia,Kentucky,Indiana,Illinois,Missouri,Kansas,Nebraska,Iowa,South Dakota,North Dakota,Montana,Idaho,Washington, andOregon in the United States |
| Coordinates | 41°0′0″N96°0′0″W / 41.00000°N 96.00000°W /41.00000; -96.00000 |
| Established | November 10, 1978 |
| Visitors | 250,000 (in 2004) |
| Administrator | National Park Service |
| Website | www |
 Lewis and Clark Trail | |
|---|---|
| Length | 4,900 mi (7,900 km) |
TheLewis and Clark National Historic Trail is a route across theUnited States commemorating theLewis and Clark Expedition of 1804 to 1806. It is part of theNational Trails System of the United States. It extends for some 4,900 miles (7,900 km) fromPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to the mouth of theColumbia River near present-dayAstoria, Oregon. It was originally established in 1978 as a 3,700-mile (6,000 km) trail following the historic outbound and inbound routes of the Lewis and Clark Expedition fromCamp Dubois atWood River, Illinois, to Oregon. In 2019, the trail was extended east to follow the expedition's 1803 preparatory journey from Pittsburgh to Wood River. The trail connects 16 states (Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon) and many tribal lands.[1]
The trail is administered by theNational Park Service, but sites along the trail are managed by federal land management agencies, state, local, tribal, and private organizations. The trail is not a hiking trail, but provides opportunities for hiking, boating and horseback riding at many locations along the route. The trail is the continuously longest of the 30 National Scenic and National Historic Trails.[1]
A highway driving route, marked as simply theLewis and Clark Trail, follows along existing roadways and is also managed by state and local agencies.
The official headquarters for the trail is located at the National Park Service Midwest Regional Headquarters, inOmaha, Nebraska. The visitor center features exhibits about the explorers and their historic trip, as well as information about sites along the trail.
A highway driving route approximates the path taken by theLewis and Clark Expedition in 1804–06, betweenSt. Louis, Missouri and thePacific Ocean atAstoria, Oregon. Like theGreat River Road, it is marked along existing roadways, in this case mostly paralleling theMissouri andColumbia rivers. Roads followed includeInterstate 29 in Iowa, the appropriately-numberedSD 1804,ND 1804,SD 1806, andND 1806, andWashington State Route 14. Two separate routes of the trail are signed between St. Louis andEast Fairview, North Dakota, one on each side of the Missouri. InWashington, it is called the Lewis and Clark Trail Highway and is astate scenic byway.[2] TheWashington State Legislature designated it as a named highway corridor in 1955, originally fromVancouver toClarkston, and later expanded it to include most state highways along the Columbia River fromCape Disappointment to Clarkston.[3]
In 1948 the National Park Service proposed a "Lewis and Clark Tour-way" along theMissouri River fromSt. Louis toThree Forks, Montana. Later,Jay "Ding" Darling proposed the development of the expedition route as a recreational trail. Following a 1966 report by theBureau of Outdoor Recreation, theNational Trails System Act of 1968 listed the route for study as a possibleNational Scenic Trail. The Lewis and Clark Trail Commission published its report in 1969 and identified the route and recreation opportunities.[4]
In 1978 the law was amended by the National Parks and Recreation Act to provide for a new category of trail,National Historic Trails, one of which was to be the Lewis and Clark trail.[5]
From 2003 to 2006, the National Park Service commemorated the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with the Corps of Discovery II traveling exhibit.[6]
The 2019John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act extended the Trail an additional 1,200 miles (1,900 km) along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Wood River, Illinois.[1]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
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