Three Forks

Although the scenery in Three Forks is striking, it’s the historic sites that make this place worth a visit. Sacajawea (circa 1786–1812) traveled in the area with her Shoshone family before she was kidnapped as a child by a rival tribe, the Hidatsas. Five years later she returned as part of the Lewis and Clark expedition. In 1805 they arrived at the forks (of the Madison, Jefferson, and Gallatin rivers), now in Missouri Headwaters State Park, looking for the river that would lead them to the Continental Divide. A plaque in the city park commemorates her contribution to the expedition’s success.