Almost all 4,000 miles of the Lewis and Clark expedition’s journey, from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean, occurred on waterways. Rivers were the superhighways across North America in the early 1800s.

The Corps of Discovery began its quest on the Missouri River in May 1804 with a large keelboat and two smaller vessels called pirogues. Traveling upstream was no easy task. They had to fight the constant upstream current and were sometimes forced to pull the boats in the water with ropes in the scorching summer heat. Violent storms often caught them by surprise. The crew suffered from boils and dysentery. Ticks and mosquitoes swarmed constantly.

Meriwether Lewis often explored the surrounding banks with his dog Seaman. William Clark wrote that Lewis "went out to the woods & found many curious Plants & Srubs.” Scientific observations and discovery of the natural environment were the main purpose of the expedition. The Corps relied on the natural resources along the river for survival. Diary entries during their time up the Missouri River make almost daily references to hunting deer, buffalo, and elk.

Today you can walk in the footsteps of these intrepid explorers at the Lewis & Clark Missouri River Basin Visitors Center, situated on a bluff overlooking the river. Exhibits inside feature the 300 plants and animals that the Corps recorded. Full-sized replicas of their boats, supplies, and a Native American earth lodge are on display. The 79 acres surrounding the center includes 2.5 miles of free nature trails, along which you will pass some of the same plants Lewis and Clark described in their journals.

Call (402) 874-9900 or visit http://www.mrb-lewisandclarkcenter.org/ for more information concerning operating hours, fees, directions, and more.

Credits and Sources:

Content for this Next Exit History site sponsored by the Lewis & Clark Trail Heritage Foundation. For more information visit http://lewisandclark.org/.

Ambrose, Stephen. Undaunted Courage: Merriweather Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West.New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.

DeVoto, Bernard Augustine. The Journals of Lewis and Clark. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1997.

Fanselow, Julie. Traveling the Lewis and Clark Trail.  Kearney, Nebraska: Morris Book Publishing, 2007.

Huser, Verne. On the River with Lewis and Clark. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press, 2004.

JM Web Designs. “Missouri River Basin Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center Main Page.” Accessed June 20, 2014.  http://www.mrb-lewisandclarkcenter.org/pages/Main-Exhibits.html.

Moulton, Gary E. The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery, An Abridgement of the Definitive Nebraska Edition.  Lincoln, Nebraska: Bison Books, 2003.