Oregon: Lewis and Clark Trail, Creating Your Own Family Field Trip on Vacation. Following part of the epic journey of Lewis & Clark is an ideal way for parents to to augment school studies and have fun along the way. Getting out and doing has its own rewards.  

Here's the scoop. The official Lewis & Clark celebraiton may be over but the locations and the stories are timeless and worth sharing with your kids. Children learn by doing and sahring cool learning experiences with your kids makes all the difference for them. The Oregon Trail presents marvelous learning opportunities and plenty of fun along the way. 

Brrr, it’s cold out there. The Fort Clatsop National Memorial is located within the forests and wetlands of the Coastal Range where it merges with the Columbia River Estuary the Fort, historic canoe landing, and spring provide a fascinating backdrop for interpreters to demonstrate their stories. Costumed rangers provide visitors with information about the winter encampment and demonstrate typical Corps activities. Visitors may see candle making, tallow rendering, flint-n-steel fire starting, and quill pen writing, vintage entertainment, American Indian skills, crafts, and salt making activities. (92343 Fort Clatsop Rd. Astoria. OR (503) 861-2471 or Fort Clatsop) 

Get going with the flow. At the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center interpreters and museum docents provide programs to enhance the museum experience for all ages. Every Friday they have a program dedicated to Lewis and Clark's journey down the Columbia. In this program explores the discoveries made along the river and how some of their work is relevant today. Bonus Points: An additional exhibition called "Archaeology from Space" provides visitors with a chance to see the Discovery Center and NASA Stennis Space Center are partnering to use NASA's remote-sensing techniques to locate Lewis and Clark campsites. (Wasco County Historical Museum, 5000 Discovery Drive, The Dalles. (541) 296-8600 or www.gorgediscovery.org)  

Additional Resources 
USA National Park Service. The National Park Service’s award-winning "Corps of Discovery II: 200 Years to the Future" is traveling the country through 2006 the details may be found at www.lewisclarkandbeyond.com/schedule/  The Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail offers a general resource for events nationwide. The information is www.nps.gov/lecl/

Montana: Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation. This is a marvelous resource site with not only pages for kids but many useful links by region and season.  Toll-free 1-888-701-3434 - 600 Central Avenue Suite 327 Great Falls, MT 59403 or www.lewisandclark.org

South Dakota: Lewis and Clark Association. The Yankton Area Chamber of Commerce along with the Yankton Daily Press and Dakotan has created Lewis and Clark's Historic Trail site to celebrate Yankton's place in history. The maps showcase not only South Dakota but the entire route. The site is great and it provides one more resource for community events. www.lewisclark.net

South Dakota Lewis and Clark Audiotape. A useful companion on the road the audiotape is available on loan at any of the South Dakota Information Centers along I-90 and I-29. Listen to the stories about the Corps of Discovery as you drive the trail. Additionally some businesses along the trail also sell the tape or you may order one from the Southeast South Dakota Visitors Association. Toll-free 1-888-353-7382. 


Content researched and posted by the Family Travel Files staff. Details, accurate at the time of writing, need to be confirmed prior to making plans. Photo credit Fort Clatsop NPS.