When Meriwether Lewis and William Clark came to the eastern edge of the Bitterroot Mountains in present-day Montana, they walked in the footsteps laid down over thousands of years by countless individuals. Geographic realities defined travel routes in the pre-modern era, and those forces created a natural crossroads near the mouth of Lolo Creek. The region provided food and water for natives, thus providing a resting place for travelers for millennia before Lewis and Clark named it so appropriately.

The Salish Indians know this area by a name that translates “No Salmon.” In the winter, the Salish tell an origin story detailing why no salmon live in the waters of the Bitterroot Valley. Coyote, a powerful figure in Indian tradition, spread salmon throughout the waters to the west but failed in his effort to carry the slippery fish over the mountain passes. As an apology, Coyote created plentiful fish, game animals, and edible plants in the Bitterroot Valley for the tribes who lived there to eat.

Lewis and Clark stayed at Travelers’ Rest twice: September 9-11, 1805, going west toward Lolo Pass, and again from June 30 through July 3, 1806, on their return trip. It is at this spot that the Corps of Discovery split into two groups in order to explore more territory in 1806.

A 2002 archaeological study of Travelers’ Rest turned up proof that Lewis and Clark camped there, which included a latrine tainted with mercury, fire hearths, and lead used in the repair and manufacture of firearms. The discovery makes Travelers’ Rest the only campsite on the Lewis and Clark Trail with physical evidence of the expedition.

Today, Travelers’ Rest State Park covers fifty acres on the south side of Lolo Creek, and retains much of the pristine beauty experienced by Lewis and Clark. The park entrance is about one half mile west of Lolo, Montana, on U. S. Highway 12.

Researched, written, and narrated by University of West Florida Public History Student Richard Adams.