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Northwest Passage All American Road: Lewiston to Montana

Northwest Passage All American Road: Lewiston to Montana

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Lewiston to Montana (Hwy 12)
Total distance: 176 miles
Suggested time: 4 hours

This beautiful byway is the easiest way to trace the Lewis & Clark Expedition route along the Clearwater and Lochsa Rivers.

In 1803, President Jefferson commissioned Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to find the Northwest Passage – the link between the Missouri River and the Columbia River through the unexplored Rocky Mountains. This 202-mile byway, stretching across north-central Idaho, follows the explorers' route through the ancestral homeland of the Nez Perce people.

From the west this beautiful route begins at the Washington state line on Hwy 12 and traverses the winding Clearwater River Canyon, passing through the Nez Perce National Historical Park areas of Spalding and Kamiah and the towns of Lenore, Orofino, Kamiah, and Kooskia. At Kooskia, the byway splits, with one route continuing on Hwy 13 south to the Camas Prairie and the town of Grangeville, while another heads east on Hwy 12 along the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River and the Lochsa Wild and Scenic River, toward the Montana border.

At Kooskia the byway splits. One segment turns south on Idaho Highway 13 toward the Camas Prairie and the town of Grangeville. Another segment continues east on U.S. 12 along the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River, and the Lochsa Wild and Scenic River, through a magnificent wilderness culminating at the Lolo Pass Visitor Center.

A free cassette/CD audio tour of this byway is available at regional visitor centers.

Download audio tours to your MP3 player by clicking here.

Points of Interest:

* Lewis and Clark Discovery Center, Lewiston (Hwy 12)

* Nez Perce National Historical Park, Spalding (Hwy 12)

* Canoe Camp and Dworshak Dam, Orofino Mile-marker 40 (Hwy 12)

* Long Camp/Riverfront Park and Heart of the Monster, Kamiah Mile-marker 68.5 (Hwy 12)

* Kooskia Crossing/Welcome Center, Kooskia  Mile-marker 73.9 (Hwy 12 & 13)

* Eimers Park and Mammoth Exhibit, Grangeville (Hwy 13)

* Fenn Historical Ranger Station, in National Forest 4.5 miles off Mile-marker 97 (Hwy 12)

* Lochsa Historical Ranger Station, in National Forest Mile-marker 121.6  (Hwy 12)

* DeVoto Memorial Cedar Grove, in National Forest Mile-marker 165 (Hwy 12)

* Lolo Pass Visitor Center, at the Idaho-Montana border (hwy 12)

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