Photos of the Lewis and Clark Trail
The Lewis and Clark Trail Photograph Galleries
The galleries are divided into the states that the trail passes through. For easy access, a navigation bar is provided on every page in this site. Featured are the states of Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon and Washington. Why no photographs of the rest of the trail? I decided early on to shoot the areas that were pretty much a mystery and unexplored at the time of Lewis and Clark. It is also the best remaining section of the trail to actually see areas that have the least amount of change over the last two hundred years.
What areas are you actually seeing? All of the images are from along the Lewis and Clark Trail. There are no "cheated" shots. The only exceptions are some of the plants and animals but for the most part they are from along the trail or nearby. Many of the these plants and animals can be found throughout the high plains, rocky mountains and the northwest. Whether you are an art director or just looking for images to fill out your journal reading, you can be assured that you are seeing "the trail".
The "trail". What was the trail? It was a collection of rivers, streams, Native American trails, and probably some outright "bushwacking" in places. The wildlife, Bison, Elk, and such probably established the trails which the natives followed and expanded upon. Today, many of those original trails are blacktopped over and hundreds of thousands of people drive over them each day! It's hard to imagine that only two hundred years have passed in the west since Lewis and Clark and the various Native tribes passed in total solitude. So much has changed in such a short time.
I hope to add more images on Native American culture here. The Lewis and Clark Expedition would most likely have failed, or would not have been near the success that it was, without their help. We hear so much about the expedition exploring and surviving in the western wilderness. Maybe for them it was, for the thousands of natives all across the route, it was for them, daily routine. It was their home.
If you have any questions, suggestions, comments please contact me. First and foremost this is a great story, a great moment in American history, an incredible documentation of a world we can only dream and wonder about. We hope the images will enchance the expedition story for you.