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The Trail

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Two army officers at Harpers Ferry ponder an iron frame in the shape of a large canoe

Eastern Beginnings

10 January–30 August 1803

The Lewis and Clark Expedition ostensibly began in February 1801 when President Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to Army commander General James Wilkinson requesting that Lieutenant Meriwether Lewis become the President’s personal secretary. Exploration of North America’s western half had long been a goal of the president, and now he had a young protégé who might lead such an expedition.

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The barge leaves the Pittsburgh dock

Down the Ohio

31 August–13 November 1803

On 31 August 1803, after months of preparation, Lewis and his crew finally head down the Ohio River. Unfortunately, the water is so low that they must frequently unload and tow the overloaded barge with horses and oxen.

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Wide Mississippi River among low hills

Up the Mississippi

14 November—11 December 1803

On 20 November 1803—after the expedition encamps nearly a week at the mouth of the Ohio—the barge and boats are moved against the Mississippi current.

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Winter at Wood River

12 December 1803–13 May 1804

In mid-December 1803, construction of winter quarters begins. In accordance with the wishes of the Spanish Governor, Lewis could work in St. Louis and the soldiers could build a garrison in Illinois across from the mouth of the Missouri. The Wood river cantonment is known today as Camp River Dubois.

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The barge tilts dangerously as the men struggle to right her

Up the Missouri

14 May–20 July 1804

On 14 May 1804—after more than a year of preparation and travel—the boats leave Camp River Dubois and head up the Missouri River. At St. Charles, the two captains, Clark’s slave York, interpreter George Drouillard, eight or nine French engagés, 34 enlisted men, and Lewis’s dog Seaman depart in three boats: the barge and two large pirogues.

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Five men and a large dog atop a hill above the Missouri River

Past the Omahas

21 July–20 August 1804

Following the Missouri River north along the present Nebraska-Iowa border, the expedition passes the homelands of the Otoes and Omahas. The captains pay their respects to the late Omaha Chief Blackbird and conduct their first two councils, one with the Otoes and another with the Omaha.

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Yankton Sioux encampment with tepees and scaffold graves

Among the Yanktons

21 August–8 September 1804

Moving along the present border between Nebraska and South Dakota, the expedition turns its ‘enlightened‘ attention to several features in the upper Missouri River mythology.

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The boats pass up the river

Crossing the Lakotas

9 September–25 Oct 1804

Moving the flotilla of boats up the Missouri in the present states of South and North Dakota, the expedition encounters several nations with limited experience with St. Louis-based traders.

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Fort Mandan surrounded by snow and ice

Winter at Fort Mandan

26 October 1804–6 April 1805

On 2 November 1804 below the Knife River Villages, work begins on the expedition’s winter fortification. The men’s quarters, storage rooms, and the 16-foot pickets, are designed for defense against hostile Indians, especially the Sioux, who would be quite troublesome, although they never attacked the fort directly. “This place we have named Fort Mandan,” Lewis recorded, “in honour of our Neighbours”—their kind and congenial Mandan Indians. Here they celebrate their second Christmas and New Year’s Day.

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a dugout passed a sharp monolithic rock in the Missouri River Breaks

Along the Northern Reach

7 April–12 June 1805

At 4 p.m. on 7 April 1805, the permanent party heads their six canoes and two pirogues up the Missouri toward the Rocky Mountain barrier. At the same moment, Corp. Warfington and a small crew accompanied by Too Né’s delegation bound for a meeting with President Jefferson head downriver in the barge.

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The men push and pull the dugout canoe across the plain

Portaging the Falls

13 June–12 July 1805

On 12 June 1805, Lewis leaves Decision Point at the mouth of the Marias to find the Great Falls of the Missouri. He finds them “truly magnifficent and sublimely grand”.

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Cliffs rising above a blue river

Gates of the Rockies

13 July–17 August 1805

Above the Great Falls of the Missouri, the expedition continues up the Missouri River in eight dugout canoes. There, the river flows along and through the eastern arms of the Rocky Mountains. Clark lists each river constriction as a gate, gap, or narrow.

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York leads a horse, Sacagawea and the Captains ride

Down the Western Valleys

11 August–10 September 1805

Having reached the end of the navigable Missouri, the captains—aided by Lemhi Shoshone Chief Cameahwait, Sacagawea‘s brother—begin acquiring horses, making pack saddles, and caching supplies they can no longer take with them.

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painting of a blanket-wrapped soldier in mountain snows

Over the Bitterroots

11 September–22 September 1805

On 11 September 1805, the expedition leaves Travelers’ Rest and follows a trail high above Lolo Creek in Montana. After passing some hot springs, they follow a trail to the Bitterroot divide at Packer Meadows.

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Men carve and burn out logs to make canoes

Among the Nez Perce

20 September–17 October 1805

Fatigued and physically sick after crossing the Bitterroot Mountains, the expedition is aided by the Nez Perce. With their help, they find a location on the Clearwater River to build five dugout canoes and employ the Nez Perce method of burning out the Ponderosa pine logs.

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Three Indians view the Celilo Falls

Down the Columbia

18 October–6 December 1805

In five battered dugout canoes, the expedition paddles down the Columbia River—a river that they know will take them to the Pacific Ocean. They safely pass a series of rapids and falls between Celilo Falls and the Cascades of the Columbia. In the Columbia River Gorge, they see stunning geologic features.

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Fort Clatsop under construction

Winter at Fort Clatsop

7 December 1805–22 March 1806

The expedition leaves Tongue Point on 7 December 1805, and immediately upon their arrival at a small point of land above the Netul River, begin to construct winter quarters. They would name it Fort Clatsop in honor of their neighbors.

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Two dugout canoes on the Columbia River shore

Return to the Clearwater

23 March–9 June 1806

The desire to return to St. Louis motivates the paddlers as they head up the Columbia River. Across from the Sandy River, they stop to hunt and dry meat. They explore the Willamette and Sandy hoping that one of them is the fabled river that comes from California.

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A rock cairn marks the Indian Road over Lewis and Clark Pass

Roads to the Buffalo

10 June–14 July 1806

With the acquisition of horses, Native Nations crossing the Rocky Mountains to hunt for bison became more common. Two of their trails are used by the captains—in separate groups—to return to the bison-rich plains.

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Clark and men lead several horses on the rocky shore

Clark on the Yellowstone

15 July–11 August 1806

Having traveled up the Gallatin River and over Bozeman Pass, Clark, York, the Charbonneau family, and eight enlisted men arrive at the Yellowstone River near present Livingston, Montana.

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Expansive badland view of the Two Medicine River from a high bluff

Lewis on the Marias

16 July–11 August 1806

Lewis can’t leave finding the source of the Marias River alone. If it comes from the far north, then that region will be considered part of the Louisiana Territory. With only three men, Lewis risks traveling through Blackfeet homelands to find the river’s source.

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The white pirogue ad dugout canoes arrive at the French village of St. Charles.

The Final Leg

11 August–26 September 1806

While hunting on the Missouri River below present Williston, North Dakota, Lewis is accidentally shot through the flesh of his buttocks. The next day, they catch up to Clark’s party at Reunion Bay. As one united force, they are ready to sprint down the river to St. Louis.

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Experience the Lewis and Clark Trail

The Lewis and Clark Trail Experience—our sister site at lewisandclark.travel—connects the world to people and places on the Lewis and Clark Trail.

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Discover More

  • The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
  • The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
  • The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.