Travel the Lewis and Clark Trail

Sakakawea Trail. The route encompasses beautiful Lake Sakakawea on Highways 1804 and 1806.

New Town, North Dakota - Three Tribes Museum.  History, displays, artifacts and pictures relating to early settlement of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Indians.  

New Town, North Dakota Reunion Bay ~ August 12, 1806.Since dividing on July 3, 1806 on their return journey, (Travelers Rest present day Missoula, Montana) the explorers had been exploring separate routes. Captain Lewis and nine men went to pursue a direct route to the Missouri, then explore Maria's river. Captain Clark and the rest of the party went a new route to the Jefferson River, then descended to the Three Forks and then proceeded with a detachment party to explore the Yellowstone, while Sergeant Ordway, with nine men, descended the Missouri. The separated parties were re-united at this bay.

Map PLUS Lewis and Clark timeline through  Williston, ND region (PDF)

Williston, North Dakota ? Yellowstone & Missouri River Confluence Interpretive Center.  When the Corps of Discovery arrived at the mouth of the Yellowstone River on April 26, 1805, they celebrated with fiddle music by Pierre Cruzatte, whiskey, and dined on buffalo. Captain Lewis writes: ? having arrived at this long wished for spot, and in order to add in some measure to the general pleasure which seemed to pervade our little community, we ordered a dram to be issued to each person.?

Williston, North Dakota- Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site. The captains noted in this area where the Yellowstone River joins the Missouri would be an excellent spot for a trading post. In 1829, Fort Union was constructed near the confluence of rivers and quickly became the top fur-trading post on the upper river. The fort has been reconstructed, and the once -elegant Bourgeois House is now a visitor center.

Near Williston, North Dakota - August 11, 1806. Private Pierre Cruzatte accidentally shot Captain Lewis in the buttocks while Elk hunting.