ABOUT

Travelers' Rest State Park preserves an intersection between cultural and natural history. Along the banks of Lolo Creek under the canopy of large Black cottonwood trees, visitors explore the landscape used for centuries by native peoples, visited twice by the Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery, and home to a wondrous diversity of plants and animals.

Located in the traditional homeland of the Selis Qlispe, indigenous people have used and been a part of today's state park for time immemorial. Today, Travelers' Rest is an important landscape for many tribal members in the Western Montana and Idaho region.

Travelers' Rest is the only archaeologically verified campsite of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960, Travelers' Rest was their last stop before beginning their journey across the treacherous Bitterroot Mountains in September 1805. The Corps of Discovery returned to this place at the end of June 1806. Visitors to Travelers' Rest can learn more about the preponderance of the evidence that led to the relocation of the National Historic Landmark and the development of Travelers' Rest State Park.

Travelers' Rest State Park has a network of over 2.5 miles of trails, a visitor center, restrooms, and a variety of adult and youth educational, interpretive, and event programming throughout the year. The park is open 9 am - 5 pm daily and offers visitors recreational opportunities like walking, bike riding, wildflower and native plant viewing, photography, and wildlife viewing. Specifically, Travelers' Rest is home to over 138 species of birds!

2020 will be the first year an OpenAIR artist will be on site. In 2019 an OpenAIR writer presented a public program outdoors about his work as an artist.