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Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail

A Basalt Butte With A View: Horsethief Butte, Columbia Hills Historical State Park, Lewis And Clark National Historic Trail

The tiny figures of three people standing atop the basalt outcrop of Horsethief Butte on an overcast day at Columbia Hills Historical State Park along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail

Horsethief Butte is a basalt outcrop popular with climbers and hikers. This butte was so named by workers developing the site because the area landscape looked much like the horsethief hideouts popular in western movies. During autumn 1805, Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery camped near this outcrop during their trek along the Columbia River toward the Pacific Ocean.

Rebecca Latson
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A Grassy Trail To Horsethief Butte At Columbia Hills Historical State Park, Lewis And Clark National Historic Trail

A grassy trail between a basalt outcrop known as Horsethief Butte on an overcast, autumn day at Columbia Hills Historical State Park, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail

During the autumn of 1805, Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery camped very near the basalt outcrop now named Horsethief Butte, a site in Columbia Hills Historical State Park along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. This butte is popular with climbers and a couple of trails, including the one pictured in this image, lead to portions of the outcrop more for climbers than hikers.

Rebecca Latson
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Oregon On The Left, Washington On The Right, Distant Horsethief Butte, And The Mighty Columbia River, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail

A downriver view of the Columbia River, with Oregon on the left, Washington state on the right, and Horsethief Butte in the far center right all along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail

Between 1804 - 1806, a band of 33 hunters, scouts, and translators (including Sacagawea, her French-Canadian husbant Toussaint Charbonneau. and their infant son) and one Newfoundland dog named Seaman, collectively known as the Corps of Discovery and led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, traveled approximately 4,900 miles over 16 states to the Pacific Ocean.

Rebecca Latson
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Beaverhead Rock Beneath A Wide Open Sky, Lewis And Clark National Historic Trail

Beaverhead Rock behind a golden field and underneath a wide open sky, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail

"On August 8, 1805, Sacagawea saw Beaverhead Rock and knew she was home. According to Lewis, '[T]his hill she says her nation calls the beaver's head from a conceived remblance of it's figure to the head of that animal. she assures us that we shall either find her people on this river or on the river immediately west of it's source; which from it's present size cannot be very distant.'"

National Park Service
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National Parks Quiz And Trivia #17

There are quite a few parks associations out there, all with programs to enrich a visitor’s experience while explaining how important national parks and protected lands are. This particular quiz focuses on parks and other protected lands supported by the Western National Parks Association across 12 Western states. See just how much you know about some of these parks before checking the answers at the bottom of the page.

National Parks Traveler Episode 67: Close The Parks, And Expanding Lewis And Clark National Historic Trail

National park podcasts, best national park podcasts, lewis and clark national historic trail

We're joined this week by Costa Dillon, a National Park Service veteran who ended his long career as superintendent of Indiana Dunes National Park, to discuss a novel management decision in Thailand to close that country’s national parks every year for two months to give wildlife a break from humans. Would such a move be good for America’s national parks? Would the National Park Service, politicians, and gateway towns agree to such annual closures? What would visitors think?

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The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.