{"id":3240,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:40:15","latitude":46.75305999999999784222382004372775554656982421875,"longitude":-114.090069999999997207851265557110309600830078125,"title":"Travelers&#039; Rest","subtitle":"National Historic Landmark","fullsize":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/c73212f4a555d07d79fb3bc4924b71f1.jpg","address":"6717 Highway 12 W, Lolo, MT 59847","all_locations":[],"zoom":11,"creator":["Montana Historical Society"],"description":"Travelers’ Rest is the only site where physical evidence documents the exact location of a campsite associated with the 1804-1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition. Situated at the eastern end of the Lolo Trail, Travelers’ Rest was used by Native peoples, most notably the Salish, Pend d ‘Oreille, and Nez Perce, centuries before Captain Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and their Corps of Discovery ever ventured west. Situated on the banks of Lolo Creek in a spot too wet for agricultural activity, the immediate vicinity of the former campsite has changed little since  members of the corps slept here. Likewise, the dominant features of the landscape to the south and west—Lolo Peak and the entrance to the Lolo Creek Canyon—still offer the same view. The explorers first camped here September 9–11, 1805, pausing briefly in their westward journey to the Pacific before they began their arduous trek over the Bitterroot Mountains. They returned the following summer, homeward bound, camping here from June 30–July 3, 1806, before splitting their party into two groups. Upon leaving, Clark and his men followed a more southerly route along the Yellowstone River while Lewis’ contingent headed north through Blackfeet country to the Marias and Missouri Rivers. The site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and became a State Park in 2001. In 2002 archaeologists unearthed evidence of the corps’ presence including a mercury-tainted trench latrine, fire hearths, and lead used in the repair and manufacture of firearms. As noted in a 2006 National Register of Historic Places amendment, “There are few places along the entire trail from Saint Louis to the Pacific Ocean that envelope such a diverse convergence of momentous historical events, peoples, and ideas.”","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"Public","lede":"","website":"","related_resources":["<a href=\"https://www.nps.gov/places/traveler-s-rest-mt.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Read more from the National Park Service</a>","<a href=\"https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/bb847c71-43e0-4f55-a30a-729bc476a026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Read the Travelers' Rest National Historic Landmark nomination</a>"],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/c73212f4a555d07d79fb3bc4924b71f1.jpg":{"id":4959,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Lewis and Clark at Traveler&#039;s Rest, Montana","description":"Painting depicting the Corps of Discovery meeting with Salish Indians along the banks of Lolo Creek near present-day Lolo. | Courtesy of Missoula Art Museum | 1914 | E. S. Paxson","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/c73212f4a555d07d79fb3bc4924b71f1.jpg"},"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/b0d2f39f2aca7b23c9a17d2f2a80ab20.jpg":{"id":4960,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Travelers&#039; Rest, Lolo, MT","description":"View looking Northwest from Travelers&#039; Rest site with Bitterroot Mountains. View matches Gustavus Sohon&#039;s 1854 drawing along Lolo Creek. | <a href=\"https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/bb847c71-43e0-4f55-a30a-729bc476a026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Historic Landmark nomination form for Travelers' Rest, Lolo, MT.</a> | July 1958 | Ray Mattison, photographer.","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/b0d2f39f2aca7b23c9a17d2f2a80ab20.jpg"},"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/1c4e0f987b79c6fe6e8a190e1f7a1af4.jpg":{"id":4967,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Travelers&#039; Rest, Lolo, MT","description":"View of tents and wooded area near the banks of Lolo Creek near the site where the Corps of Discovery camped. The area is now part of Travelers&#039; Rest State Park. | Travelers&#039; Rest State Park | May 2019 | Dale Dufor, photographer.","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/1c4e0f987b79c6fe6e8a190e1f7a1af4.jpg"},"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/7c16bc3be609d02760201c9b9f167742.jpg":{"id":4968,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Travelers&#039; Rest, Lolo, MT","description":"View of foot bridge over Lolo Creek within Travelers&#039; Rest State Park. | Travelers&#039; Rest State Park, Lolo, MT | Fall 2019 | Dale Dufor, photographer.","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/7c16bc3be609d02760201c9b9f167742.jpg"},"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/c7bc32e58a06a700357946ea40a10442.jpg":{"id":4969,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Travelers&#039; Rest, Lolo, MT","description":"View looking toward Lolo Creek with interpretive panels at Travelers&#039; Rest State Park, Lolo, MT. | Travelers&#039; Rest State Park | ca. December 2019 | Dale Dufor, photographer.","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/c7bc32e58a06a700357946ea40a10442.jpg"},"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/4f9ea8323743f4eaeef810eed6d8f8e7.jpg":{"id":5989,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Traveler&#039;s Rest","description":"Photo of creek. | Montana Historical Society | 28 August, 2022 | Tim Ferris, photographer","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/4f9ea8323743f4eaeef810eed6d8f8e7.jpg"}}}