Travelers’ Rest State Park

Travelers’ Rest State Parks provides the unique opportunity to experience significant cultural heritage in a natural setting. With the only archaeologically verified campsite of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the nation, Travelers’ Rest has walking trails that lead visitors around the site, offering a chance to reflect on their momentous journey. Centuries before Lewis and Clark, this site has long been known and used by Native peoples, notably the Salish. Travelers’ Rest acknowledges that significance and offers opportunities to learn from and about the Bitterroot Salish, Pend d’Oreille, and Nez Perce people. The combination of a trail system and the natural setting of Travelers’ Rest State Park provides the local community a place to recreate, watch wildlife, and connecting with their heritage.

Travelers’ Rest State Parks marks an important stopping point for the Corps of Discovery both on their way to the Pacific Ocean on September 9 – 11, 1805 and during their return home from June 30 – July 3, 1806.

Nearly 200 years later in the summer of 2002, archaeologists exploring the area found evidence of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. These findings, according to the National Parks Service, included “a trench 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.”

Available Activities include: