Lolo via US Highway 12

Kamiah (pronounced KAM-ee-eye) is figuratively and literally the heart of Nez Perce Country, and from 14 May 1806 until 10 June 1806, the expedition waited here at Long Camp for the Bitterroot Mountain snow to melt. City Park has restrooms, picnic tables, and some great murals and other art interpreting life for the nimíipuu here.
Learn more at our educational website, Discovering Lewis and Clark:

• Long Camp
• The Nez Perce
• Return to the Clearwater

Almost immediately after leaving downtown Kamiah, the Nez Perce National Historic Park contains the Heart of the Monster. "There is a creation story at the center of every culture. For the nimíipuu, or Nez Perce, the story of their people begins at the landmark near present day Kamiah, Idaho called timʼné•pe, or Heart of the Monster, where Iceye'ye (coyote) killed a monster who was eating all of the animals." (from www.nps.gov/nepe/learn/historyculture/heart-of-the-monster-history.htm)

At the turn off for Kooskia (Idaho HW 13) is an old weigh station that has been converted into a area chock-full of tourist information and historical interpretation. Kooskia was a traditional Nez Perce village near the confluence of the North and Middle Fork Clearwater rivers.

Colgate Licks is named for George Colegate (yes, the spelling is inconsistent) the cook for the ill-fated Carlin Party—a group of young men who came to Idaho to camp and hunt in September 1893. They hired a guide from Spokane, and their cook was George Colegate, a settler from Kendrick, Idaho who was a bit older and not in good health . . . .
This site has a short interpretive trail that includes views of the licks. Wildlife is often encountered by those who make the trek.

Here the Selway and Lochsa Rivers merge to form the Middle Fork Clearwater River. The names are white man's interpretation of Nez Perce meaning gentle (Selway) and rough (Lochsa). There are quite a few campgrounds along the Selway River which for the first dozen miles has a much more placid nature than the Lochsa River.

For the intrepid historic traveler, the trail up Fish Creek will take you to Hungery Creek—perhaps the remotest section of the entire Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. There is a pit toilet at the trailhead and campgrounds along the highway nearby. The trip is 3 miles one way with the typical ups and downs of Forest Service trails that follow mountain streams. At Hungery Creek, there is an old cabin and a nice area to pitch a tent. Expect great views!

See why Hungery Creek was named so by William Clark: Hungery Creek.

The Lochsa Historic Ranger Station offers plenty of historic interpretation from the Lolo Trail to the center's role as the staging area for all of the Forest Service travels for the Clearwater, Lochsa, and Selway forests. The road up the river ended here, so travel was by foot or mule!

Lochsa Lodge has a restaurant, cabins, a small grocery, and gas. Just down this hill, you will find the Powell Ranger Station where the Lewis and Clark Expedition camped on an island 14 September 1805. There is also a Forest Service-managed campground in this area.

Learn more: September 14, 1805.

Packer Meadows is a great place to stop and reflect, a mountain meadow crossed by the expedition both coming and going. On the return trip, all the journalists mentioned the “quawmas flatts” and the fine grazing. Indeed Packer Meadows is stunning in mid- to late June when the camas typically blooms there.

Learn more:

• Packer Meadows
• Camas

The final stop, Travelers' Rest State Park is an ancient camping site for Native Nations and in 1805 and 1806, the Lewis and Clark Expedition slept here. A short nature trail, historical interpretation, and a museum can be found here.

Learn more at Discovering Lewis and Clark.