In July of 1806, a band of newcomers arrived in what is now Western Montana from the west. Captain Meriwether Lewis and his party of
nine men split from Captain William Clark and the rest of the Expedition at Travelers Rest, near today’s Lolo, Montana. Rather than heading back to St. Louis the way they came, Lewis took the shortcut to the buffalo country up the Blackfoot River, over the Continental Divide, and into Blackfeet territory. Clark explored the Yellowstone River before meeting up again with Lewis on the Missouri River.
About 20 years ago, several partners created a brochure that followed Lewis’ journal highlights within the Blackfoot watershed. This piece also speaks to the important history of this travel route as the “Road to the Buffalo,” a culturally and spiritually significant route for Native Americans going to and from their traditional hunting grounds on the plains. The Blackfoot Challenge recently partnered with the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center in Great Falls to update the travel brochure. Print copies are available at either the Blackfoot Challenge office in Ovando or at the Interpretive Center in Great Falls. You can find a digital copy online here.