LECL Lewis and Clark NHT Descent Trail

The Descent Trail is a three-mile segment of the Lewis and Clark Trail National Historic Trail where visitors can walk in the footsteps of the Corps of Discovery, who descended this route on September 4, 1805, as they crossed the Bitterroot Mountains. The Descent Trail offers visitors an opportunity to experience a landscape that remains much as it was during the expedition. Many of the trees in this area have been cored by the U.S. Forest Service and found to be more than 270 years old. These “witness trees” were very likely present when the Corps traveled through in 1805, providing visitors nowadays a connection to the same landscape that the expedition experienced. The trail is an easy, descending hike along a narrow ridgeline with scenic views of the surrounding mountains and valley. The upper trailhead is located off Highway 93 in southern Ravalli County near mile marker 2.5, and the lower trailhead is near Indian Trees Campground. Interpretive signage and trail markers help visitors follow the historic route while protecting the surrounding wilderness. The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail is approximately 4,900 miles long, extending from the Ohio River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon, following both the outbound and inbound routes of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The trail connects 16 states (Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon) and was established by Congress in 1978 as part of the national trails system (NTS) as one of four original national historic trails. This trail commemorates the 1803-1806 expedition of Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery, which explored the Louisiana Territory and beyond. This epic journey contributed to significant scientific knowledge and profound political, social, economic, cultural, and environmental changes to the lands and the peoples of the North American continent. The corresponding NPS DataStore on Integrated Resource Management Applications (IRMA) reference is LECL Lewis and Clark NHT Descent Trail.