The National Park Service’s (NPS) Lewis and Clark Historic Trail spans 4,900 miles and 16 states. It starts in Pittsburgh, where the group prepared for the journey, and ends in Oregon. One of the most important yet often overlooked historic sites on the trail is just 18 miles from St. Louis.
This state historic site is where the explorers Capt. Meriwether Lewis, Capt. William Clark, and their more than 40-men Corps of Discovery team established a preparation camp. It was along River Dubois, a French name for what was also known as the Wood River. Here, near the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, Clark and the group set out on May 14, 1804. They picked up Lewis a few days later in St. Charles, Missouri.
