Has anyone here traveled a portion of - or the entire length of - the Lewis and Clark Trail?

I'm particularly interested in the portion westward from St. Charles, MO; however, if you have any information on the eastern leg, would love to hear it.

Length of time is not an issue and this would be for travel next sometime between the late spring into the early fall months.

Over the last several years we have followed the route of the Corps of Discovery from Camp River Dubois on the IL side of the river to Fort Clatsop at the Mouth of the Columbia River. Most of the way it is difficult to even see the river. It is an interesting drive if there is enough time. There are many interesting places along the way. Once you leave the Three Rivers area in MT and cross over into ID the route Lewis and Clark took is different from the waterways they followed for most of their journey...

http://www.campdubois.com/

http://www.nps.gov/lecl/

http://www.nps.gov/lewi/planyourvisit/fortclatsop.htm

In the summer of 06 we drove the Lolo Motorway, Forest Road 500 in ID. If you have a high clearance vehicle and are willing to explore this is an interesting drive. Stop at the Visitors Center on US-12 on top of Lolo Pass for current road conditions.

http://www.lewisandclarktrail.com/se...trail/find.htm

http://edbrenegar.typepad.com/photos...gns/index.html

http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/lewisclark/l..._motorway.html

Thanks for the great information, RedRock. I have already been reviewing the Lewis and Clark website as well as a couple of others and some blogs.

I did a search here in Fodors under "Lewis and Clark" and only saw a very few entries, so I thought that perhaps there is information for the various states along the way in different threads where I'm going to have scratch the surface a little deeper.

The current plan is to purchase a new vehicle next spring and looking forward to "breaking it in". Ah, that "new car smell"! It won't be a high clearance vehicle, though.

I've been on some of the eastern trail (mainly in KY, IN and IL) and have visited St. Charles several years ago, which I really enjoyed (even more so than St. Louis - apologizing ahead of time to you St. Louisians).

There are several states along the western route which I haven't yet explored so I thought this might be a good opportunity, if everything falls into place.

Along the way, I'm planning on doing some camping (with my trusty telescope in tow for the nighttime skies), hiking and perhaps even some biking (iffy on the last one, though).

One item of concern is the change in elevation along the route. I've driven at 7000-7500' (i.e., Flagstaff) but not in the truly mountainous areas. Since this will be a more leisurely trip, I'm hoping that there won't be any problems with altitude sickness and I can acclimatize myself gradually.

Of course, I'll prepare for the worst - and hope for the best!

Here is another I have found interesting.

http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/lewisandclark/

Go the nps.gov site and do a search for Lewis and Clark. There are more than just a few, same applies with Google.

If you drive as close to the river as possible you will spend a lot of time on two lane roads. Those are kind of roads we like to drive.

Once you spend 10-14 hours a day week after week after week and with the camping the "new car smell" will be gone before you know it.

Next set your sights on the Oregon Trail, another interesting drive. Some of the two are together along the Columbia River.

Missouri has a website with some good maps of the route across the state. this one shows the St Louis-St Charles area www.lewisandclark.mo.gov/maps/map_4.asp As you go west you come to the town of Hermann and beyond that is Grand Bluffs, where you can hike up to an overlook and see the location of some campsites www.lewisandclark.mo.gov/maps/map_7.asp Info about Grand Bluffs here www.mdc.mo.gov/conmag/2006/06/30.htm (that picture does not do justice to the view)

This article might be of interest www.mdc.mo.gov/conmag/2004/10/20.htm

Hermann, Augusta, and Rocheport are popular towns to walk, taste wine.

There are several places off highway 94 to access the river, such as the tiny town of Portland. Hermann and Washington have nice riverfront parks. The state capital in Jefferson City overlooks the river and contains a museum.

Let me know if you want more specifics about the Central MO area; I will help if I can.

aloha -- We drove the SR-94 that appears on the map that your links showed. The campsites that are marked on the map are speculative. The only place they can prove that the Expedition stopped and left a noticeable mark on the land scape was at Pompeys Pillar NM in MT along the Yellowstone River The Pillar was named after the infant son of Sacagawea. All the rivers the Corps followed have changed course many times in the last 200 years.

aloha, thanks for the wonderful Missouri information. It's greatly appreciated.

I'm glad that you mentioned Hermann - because, if you note from my original post, I said that I was thinking about possibly bringing along my bike. Specifically, I was considering biking in/around the Hermann, MO area. If I'm not mistaken, the wineries there can be accessed by bike trails?

However, since I'd have to be hauling that bike all the way to the Pacific Ocean and back, I'm probably going to look into renting (if possible) for just those areas where I might desire one.

Ultimately, though, it really depends what the rough cost of the entire trip will be - because I'm also considering traveling further into some areas via canoe and perhaps horseback as well.

I hate to think how many years since I've been riding to any extent. I used to help my best friend break and train Arabians when I was younger. (IMHO, she mostly kept me around to shovel, though.)

I am a docent with the Council Bluffs Chamber of Commerce and help with Lewis and Clark bus tours of the area.

As you are probably aware of there are many Lewis and Clark official heritage stops along the way. I tend to work with caravans that stop at various LC sites and then take a bus tour of the area, Council Bluffs, when they arrive.

One particular problem at least in this part of the trail is that the river has changed so over the last 200 years there really isn't much to see that is anything like what Lewis and Clark experienced so you end up getting local L & C stories but little else.

Also, I think the tours that go through tend to get REALLY TIRED of hearing the same old stories from every guide along the way, western Iowa is not far from St. Louis but by the time they get here on their typical 44 day tour of the trail they have already heard way more L&C information than they can stand!

Some places that they seem to enjoy the most include the Lewis and Clark monument just outside northern Council Bluffs, the Western Trail Center located along I-80/29 in Council Bluffs and I recommend seeing the Floyd Monument and Trail Center in Sioux City.

Also, they have a lifesize replica of the keelboat, which they take out at times, at Lewis and Clark State Park in Onawa Iowa on I-29 between Council Bluffs and Sioux City.

Have a good trip! and enjoy other historic things along the way -- don't get bogged down on just Lewis and Clark. There are so many other things to see and do.

Thank you, 4khansen, for your kind advice.

Yes, I plan on doing several side trips of my own agenda along the way. For example, I haven't been in either of the Dakotas, Montana, Idaho or Washington state. (I have been in Minnesota - went to Minneapolis/St. Paul - not via interstate, though, but took back roads up from Chicago. And have been to both Missouri and Iowa, although only around the Mississippi.)

Lewis and Clark aren't the only explorers, although they are the inspiration of my journey.

Oops! I forgot to mention that I have been in both Nebraska and Kansas but only for a day (or less) - so I really don't count that as even being there!

Since I have a longer period of time, I'm hoping that I can manage to include some of the better festivals throughout the states as I travel through.

Of course, this takes a major amount of planning as I'm driving to the Pacific Ocean and returning probably on a differing route - and can experience them on either leg.

P.S. My error, I thought the Lewis and Clark Trail went as far north as Minnesota, but I see I was mistaken.

Oh, and on the eastern leg of the route, I've been to every state save West Virginia and Delaware, although in different areas of Maryland and Virginia. And not quite the whole length of the trail in Ohio.

In South Dakota the trail goes through or on the border of 5 Indian Reservations, Yankton, Lower Brule, Crow Creek, Cheyenne River & Standing Rock.

http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/dakotas/sd.html

http://www.lewisclark.net/sdtrail/index.html

The cities of Yankton, Chamberlain or Pierre would be good stopping spots for hotels. If camping, there are quite a few state campgrounds along the river. The area of Lake Francis Case/Ft. Randall Dam is particularly pretty, though I haven't seen the campground.

If you are interested in star gazing, you will find plenty of areas without urban lighting.

Some things I would recommend in the Council Bluffs area are the General Dodge House, Squirrel Cage Jail in Council Bluffs and in Omaha, the Old Market, the SAC Museum as well as the Henry Doorly Zoo.

Since everyone has been so kind as to share, I thought I'd contribute a little information as well on this subject.

A great read: "Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West" by Stephen Ambrose.

And from the Newberry Library (located in Chicago): the exhibit "Lewis and Clark and the Indian Country". Take a look at their website.

Exiledprincess, I am not sure you will be able/want to bike to many wineries. Some info here www.hermannmo.info:80/biking/ The photos give a good idea of the two-lane highways with no shoulder or bike lane...the yellow line is the no-passing line between the two lanes of car, truck, and farm machinery traffic. As you may be able to tell, i am a driver not a bicyclist. Certainly a lot of people do bicycle on the country highways, but I always wonder how safe they feel. Granted, there are long stretches with very little traffic during most of the day. Some areas are very hilly also.

Winery info here www.hermannwinetrail.com/ (the wine "trail" is just a geographic grouping of wineries to which most people drive rather than hike or bike)
Hermannhof is right on hwy 100/First St in Hermann, no problem to walk or bike there. Stone Hill is also in town but is up on a hill so you might end up walking the bike. Adam Puchta and Oak Glenn are both outside of town, in opposite directions, on hwy 100 which has no bike lane or shoulder. There is a dirt road from 100 to Oak Glenn as well with a lot of incline. The others are farther out of Hermann on the highway.

The Katy Trail is flat and a lot of people bike it. it is on the north side of the river and Hermann and its wineries are on the south side.

Katy Trail info www.bikekatytrail.com/
www.mostateparks.com/katytrail/index.html

The main page for Hermann info www.hermannmo.info/

there is a bike shop in Hermann....seems to be closed a lot so probably need to make any arrangements in advance. they are listed in the shopping section on the Hermann page.

The people at the visitor center are very helpful, 800 # on the Hermann page.

exiledprincess-- Keep working on visiting all the states. We completed the 50 this past summer with our travels thru the New England States..


By all means stop and visit the Squirrel Cage Jail in Council Bluffs we found it very interesting and unique.