Montana Office of Tourism, Other Partners Join to Promote Lewis and Clark Trail

Montana residents and visitors have new resources highlighting the communities, attractions, events and visitor experiences offered along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. Public Information Officer Daniel Iverson said the Lewis and Clark Trail and its story covers virtually all regions of Montana and offers adventure, natural and cultural history, and a look at how Montana has changed—or not—over the last 200 years:

"The Montana Office of Tourism has partnered with a number of organizations in Montana and the surrounding region to develop some materials to help people take a self guided tour along the Lewis and Clark Trail and see some of the attractions in Montana and along the way," Iverson said. "The trail actually starts in South Dakota, come up through North Dakota, and up into Montana."

Iverson said Montana’s six tourism region organizations, central Montana, Glacier Country, Missouri River Country, southeast Montana, southwest Montana and Yellowstone Country, along with Visit Billings and the Montana Office of Tourism financed and provided direction for the program.

"We saw last year that about 12 percent of the people who visited Montana in 2013 said that an interest in Lewis and Clark history was the reason that they were coming to Montana," Iverson said. "About nine percent of the people who visited last year actually did visit Lewis and Clark sites while they were here. It's a big draw for tourists and definitely an opportunity for us to get people to come to the state and spend more money."

Other project partners include the National Park Service, the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, and the North Dakota and South Dakota state tourism programs.

Free self-guided vacation adventure maps are available online at the Lewis and Clark Trail website.