Bannack Ghost Town & State Park - Lewis and Clark Trail Experience

Information

Park Open all year. Summer Hours: Memorial Day - August 10, 2022 8 am - 9 pm Shoulder Season Hours: August 11, 2022 - September 30, 2022 8 a.m. - Sunset Winter Hours: Oct 1, 2022 - Memorial Day 2023 8 am - 5 pm Closed December 24 & 25 Campground Open all year.

(406)-834-3413

Free for Montana residents. For non-residents, $8 per day with a vehicle. $4 per day without a vehicle. Campsite prices range from $4-$34, depending on season and amenities.

lat: 45.1610337 long: -112.9955907

Bannack is the site of the first discovery of gold in Montana, in 1862! However, after the gold rush, it was abandoned. Bannack is now a ghost town. Fortunately, many of the original buildings have been preserved! If you visit this state park, you can explore 50 buildings from the gold rush period, and see how gold miners in Montana lived. For further immersion, there is a campground nearby. On the 3rd weekend of July, be sure to see the historical reenactment!

History comes alive at Bannack Ghost Town

History comes alive at Bannack Ghost Town

In July, Bannack offers historical re-enactments

In July, Bannack offers historical re-enactments

Bannack's original buildings have been preserved, and show the history of Montana's gold rush

Bannack's original buildings have been preserved, and show the history of Montana's gold rush

Nearby Attractions

Distance Unit:

Bannack State Park

Bannack State Park

Bannack State Park, Bannack Road, Dillon, MT, USA
Distance: 0.16 Away

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Camp Fortunate Overlook

Camp Fortunate Overlook

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Beaverhead Chamber of Commerce & Agriculture and Convention & Visitors Bureau

Beaverhead Chamber of Commerce & Agriculture and Convention & Visitors Bureau

Beaverhead Chamber Of Commerce & Agriculture, West Reeder Street, Dillon, MT, USA
Distance: 17.71 Away

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Beaverhead County Museum

Beaverhead County Museum

Beaverhead County Museum, South Montana Street, Dillon, MT, USA
Distance: 17.83 Away

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Clark’s Lookout State Park

Clark’s Lookout State Park

Clark’s Lookout State Park, Clarks Lookout Road, Dillon, MT, USA
Distance: 18.35 Away

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Lemhi Pass

Lemhi Pass

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Distance: 25.29 Away

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First Flag Unfurling Site

First Flag Unfurling Site

NF-185, Salmon, ID, USA
Distance: 29.71 Away

Tribal Experiences LC Features

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Beaverhead Rock State Park

Beaverhead Rock State Park

Beaverhead Rock State Park, Beaverhead Rock Road, Twin Bridges, MT, USA
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The Sacajawea Interpretive, Cultural, & Educational Center

The Sacajawea Interpretive, Cultural, & Educational Center

Sacajawea Interpretive, Cultural & Educational Center, Main Street, Salmon, ID, USA
Distance: 42.37 Away

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Sacajawea Interpretive, Cultural & Educational Center

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Discovery Hill Recreation Area

Discovery Hill Recreation Area

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Salmon, Idaho

Salmon, Idaho

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Sign Up for the Lewis & Clark Trail Experience Newsletter

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Instagram Feed

Check out our YouTube Channel! We have some great

Check out our YouTube Channel!

We have some great content being posted there every Saturday - you’ll see videos related to personal stories and adventures on the trail, special reports on various trail locations, and much more!

Be sure to subscribe and share with friends as well!

https://www.youtube.com/@lewisandclarktrailalliance

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Here’s a summary of another video you can find there, ‘ Where Louisville Begins - Visit Historic Locust Grove’:

“This c.1792 Georgian mansion tells the story of its owners, William and Lucy Clark Croghan, and the story of American beginnings. William and Lucy Clark Croghan and Lucy’s brother, General George Rogers Clark, welcomed a generation of American luminaries to their home to rest, dialogue, campaign, and duel. Presidents James Monroe and Andrew Jackson, John James Audubon, Cassius Marcellus C, and Lewis and Clark—among others—all passed through Locust Grove. Now a National Historic Landmark, Locust Grove is a unique example of early Kentucky architecture, craftsmanship, and history.

Director of Interpretation Kaitlyn Tisdale takes us on a virtual tour of this historic location.

Learn more about Louisville history at https://lewis-clark.org/?s=locust+grove”

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1kfBtR17m8)

Park of the Week: Harpers Ferry National Historica

Park of the Week: Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

Positioned at the meeting place of three states (Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland) and the confluence of two major rivers (the Potomac and the Shenandiah), it is not surprising that Harpers Ferry National Historical Park has seen quite a bit of history. The town was the site of John Brown’s Raid and changed hands between the North and the South eight times throughout the course of the Civil War. It was also visited by George Washington in 1785 as he gauged the need for canals and sluices on the Potomac River.

Many visitors are shocked to find that Harpers Ferry also claims a major role in the success of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In 1803, Meriwether Lewis stopped at Harpers Ferry as he prepared for his famous journey to the Pacific Ocean. At the time of his visit, Harpers Ferry was the home of the United States Armory and Arsenal. Resultantly, Lewis ordered the production of 15 powder horns, 30 bullet molds, 30 ball screws, extra rifle and musket locks, gunsmith's repair tools, several dozen tomahawks, 24 large knives, and a collapsible iron boat frame. These weapons and tools were used by the members of the expedition as they braved the great wilderness of western North America.

Today, the buildings of Harpers Ferry Historical Park are home to a series of small museums, artisan boutiques, and restaurants. Though the United States Armory and Arsenal itself was burnt down during the Civil War, visitors can still read about Meriwether Lewis’s time in Harpers Ferry on informational signs and inside one of the small onsite museums dedicated to the armaments of the expedition. Tours dedicated to the history of Harpers Ferry also detail Lewis’s time and lodgings as he stayed in town.

Photos credited to Mitchell Pence and Cait Clark, 2024

#lewisandclark #history #adventure #travel #westvirginia #maryland #virginia #potomacriver #harpersferry #shenandiahriver

Our new APP is now available! Check it out if you

Our new APP is now available! Check it out if you haven’t yet to bring the adventure and magic of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail on your mobile device. Scan the QR code here or find it on your app store.

Check out our YouTube Channel! We have some great

Check out our YouTube Channel!

We have some great content being posted there every Saturday - you’ll see videos related to personal stories and adventures on the trail, special reports on various trail locations, and much more!

Be sure to subscribe and share with friends as well!

https://www.youtube.com/@lewisandclarktrailalliance

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Here’s a summary of the latest video you can find there, ‘The Legend of Big Bone Lick’:

“What’s a lick, and what do big bones have to do with it? A “lick” is a term for a natural occurrence of salt. They usually appear around sulfur springs, which are places where water and minerals bubble out of the ground. It often smells like rotten eggs.

People call these places “licks” because animals like to lick the salty deposits. The “big bone” part of its name came from huge bones in this bog. Indigenous oral tradition states that the bones were from the white buffalo, who died when they drank the salty water. Western scientists theorized that animals—including mammoths and mastodons—who came for a salty treat got trapped in the marshy areas around the springs.

This site was influential in the American development of paleontology and theories of animal extinction. Thomas Jefferson knew about this place and asked Meriwether Lewis to stop and collect some fossils and send them back.”

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLevOwbBZzs)

https://lewis-clark.org/the-trail/down-the-ohio/big-bone-lick/

The (Confluence Land Bridge in Vancouver, Washingt

The (Confluence Land Bridge in Vancouver, Washington) is a real link connecting back to the Klickitat Trail, Lewis and Clark, and the development of the Northwest. It completes a circle that’s been broken. -Johnpaul Jones

https://www.confluenceproject.org/

About Confluence:
Confluence connects you to the history, living cultures, and ecology of the Columbia River system through Indigenous voices. We are a community-supported nonprofit that works through six art landscapes, educational programs, and public gatherings in collaboration with northwest tribes, communities, and the celebrated artist Maya Lin.

Site Features:
European and Native American cultures once converged at this Columbia River site, where the Hudson’s Bay Company stood as the first European trading post in the Pacific Northwest. Lewis and Clark camped here, and Fort Vancouver was built here 20 years later. Today, the site features a 40-foot wide earth-covered pedestrian bridge that arcs over State Route 14, reconnecting historic Fort Vancouver with the Columbia River, which helped extend the fort’s influence from Mexico to Alaska and across the Pacific Ocean.

Directions to Vancouver Land Bridge
There are two entrances to the Land Bridge in Vancouver, WA. The south entrance is on Columbia Way Blvd. at Old Apple Tree Park. From I-5, take Highway 14 east and take Exit 1 for SE Columbia Way toward Vancouver National Historic Reserve. Keep right, follow signs for S/Southeast Columbia Way. Turn right and drive west to the sign for Old Apple Tree Park. Park and walk under the overpass to the welcome gate of the Land Bridge.

The north entrance to the Land Bridge is just west of Fort Vancouver. From I-5, take Mill Plain Blvd east. Turn right at Fort Vancouver Way. Stay on Fort Vancouver Way through the roundabout and turn left on East 5th Street. The path to the Land Bridge will be on your right.

Watch -- Virtual Tour of Vancouver Land Bridge on Confluence’s Digital Library (https://www.confluenceproject.org/library/).

Watch -- Tanna Engdahl: We Were Excellent Land Managers (http://xn--https-hw3b//www.confluenceproject.org/library-post/tanna-engdahl-we-were-excellent-land-managers/%22)