Idlewild and Soak Zone - Lewis and Clark Trail Experience

Information

Idlewild's gates open at 10:30 a.m. Park Rides, attractions and refreshment stands begin to open progressively between 11:00 and 11:30. Idlewild's gates close at 6:00 p.m. Due to student employees' school and school related activity schedules, the park does have some limited operation dates near the beginning and end of the season. A list of Scheduled Operations is listed daily in the Alert Panel at the top of the website and will serve as your best source for information on what rides and attractions may not operate during limited operation dates. Operational hours, policies, prices, rides, entertainment, and attractions are subject to change without notice. Sorry, no refunds.

724-238-3666

Summer Season ticket information can be found on the Idlewild and Soak Zone website.

lat: 40.2615155 long: -79.2770723

Located in Ligonier, an hour’s drive southeast of Pittsburgh, Idlewild has the distinction of being the oldest amusement park in Pennsylvania and the 3rd oldest in America.

From waterslides to Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, roller coasters to Story Book Forest, there are plenty of attractions to provide fun for the entire family. The Park is filled with classic rides such as the Red Baron, Wild Mouse, Skooters, Flying Aces, and Balloon Race. Don’t forget to bring your bathing suit for the wave pool! And to feed the appetite, there are plenty of kiosks in the park for delicious meals, snacks, and sweets.

Enjoy chicken tenders, hoagies, Philly cheesesteaks, and the always popular Potato Patch fries. To cure your sweet tooth, try Wild West Kettle Korn, Sweet Treets Candy Shoppe, or Idlewild’s famous funnel cakes. Staples like Auntie Annes and Dippin’ Dots can also be found in the park, as well has lighter options like salads.

Idlewild and SoakZone has been awarded the Golden Ticket 8 years in a row as the Best Children’s Park, and in 2019 was awarded 3^rd place for the Best Family Park, out of all of the parks in the amusement park industry.

A large children's book as the entrance to Story Book Forest at Idlewild along the Lewis and Clark Historic Trail

A large children's book as the entrance to Story Book Forest at Idlewild along the Lewis and Clark Historic Trail

Water slides and swimming pool at Idlewild and Soak Zone along the Lewis and Clark Historic Trail

Water slides and swimming pool at Idlewild and Soak Zone along the Lewis and Clark Historic Trail

Map of Idlewild and SoakZone along the Lewis and Clark Historic Trail

Map of Idlewild and SoakZone along the Lewis and Clark Historic Trail

Logo for Idlewild and SoakZone Park along the Lewis and Clark Historic Trail

Train ride through Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood at Idlewild along the Lewis and Clark Historic Trail

Train ride through Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood at Idlewild along the Lewis and Clark Historic Trail

Balloon Race rice at Idlewild along the Lewis and Clark Historic Trail

Balloon Race rice at Idlewild along the Lewis and Clark Historic Trail

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The Leaning Cask Brewing Company

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Old Thunder Brewing

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Frick Park

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The Frick Art and Historical Center

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The Historic Clayton Mansion and Scenic Gardens and Greenhouse at The Frick

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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 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)

The Sunshine Mill has a long, colorful history. T

The Sunshine Mill has a long, colorful history.

The Sunshine Mill has milled wheat on this property for more than 130 years, and was the first building in The Dalles to have electricity, powered by a Thomas Edison Motor which can still be seen in The Mill. It is also the only designated skyscraper in The Columbia River Gorge. The Sunshine Biscuit Company once owned this property and the wheat milled here was used to make everyone’s favorite cracker, the Cheez-It!

The Sunshine Mill now houses Quenett and Copa Di Vino wineries owned and operated by James and Molli Martin, both from The Dalles. Quenett Winery released its first vintage in 2002 and burst onto the wine scene with its outstanding vintages of Sangiovese and Zinfandel. The word Quenett comes from the journals of Lewis and Clark, who camped along luscious and fruitful banks of the Columbia River and learned from the local Indians that the word Quenett meant “Steelhead.”

The story and inspiration for Copa Di Vino, or “Wine by the Glass”, takes us on a journey through Provence on a bullet train where James and Molli first saw the concept of ready to drink wine. They brought their idea back to the States and began re-habilitating the Sunshine Mill Campus to become the production site and tasting room for Copa Di Vino, which has been housed on site since 2009.

So take a walk through the grounds and discover The Sunshine Mill, the awe-inspiring property that James and Molli have hand crafted out of artifacts found here to share with you. Enjoy a tasting or have a glass of wine in our amphitheater. Order an Antipasto platter to enjoy in The Boiler House Bar and drink differently at The Sunshine Mill.

https://www.lewisandclark.travel/listing/sunshine-mill-winery/

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:

“Wilkinson (1757-1825) was one of the most duplicitous, avaricious, and altogether corrupt figures in the early history of the United States. Although he served in the Revolutionary War as adjutant general under General Horatio Gates, he took an oath of allegiance to Spain in 1787, and was paid by the Spanish government. In 1803, he was appointed governor of Louisiana Territory above the 33rd parallel—the northern boundary of the present state of Louisiana. —Joseph A. Mussulman

Jim Holmberg, Senior Curator at the Filson Historical Society in Louisville, Kentucky tells us all about ‘Jimmy the Snake’ ”

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-hCZSsPORs)

Share your photos and stories from the Trail! Thi

Share your photos and stories from the Trail!

This photo was shared by Lexie B. about a week ago:

“The Meriwether Lewis monument under the aurora borealis on the 215th anniversary of the night he arrived at Grinder’s Stand.”

Thanks for sharing, Lexie! And thanks for sharing your stories of the trail with others 🙂

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Some more information about Grinder’s Stand:

“Meriwether Lewis traveled the Natchez Trace during his final trip in 1809, when he was governor of the Louisiana Territory. Accompanying him were Major James Neelly, John Pernier, and Neelly's servant. When they reached the Chickasaw Agency, six miles north of the present location of Houston, Mississippi, Lewis asked Neelly that the trunks with the expedition journals would be sent to "the President" in the event that anything happened to him. Stephen Ambrose records in Undaunted Courage that "Neelly assumed Lewis meant Jefferson, not Madison," then the current President.

On October 11, at Grinder's Stand (also “Inn”), 72 miles short of Nashville, most historians believe that Lewis, suffering from depression and anxiety, shot himself in the head and died the following morning. Thomas Jefferson had much earlier noted Lewis's depressions, when he served as the President's secretary, and believed that they ran in the Lewis family."

https://www.nps.gov/articles/grinder-s-stand-tn.htm

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Do you have pictures or personal stories from your time along the Trail?! If you do, please message the group with them for a chance to be featured in future posts!