Great Falls Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center

The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center, located in Great Falls, Montana is a great way to re-live history without the hassle of the great outdoors. The center is built directly on top of a scenic bluff along the Missouri River and allows visitors to experience the Lewis and Clark's 8,000 mile journey across North American in the comfort of one of the nicest museums in the United States. The facility is cleverly arranged to follow the adventurers' path to each major point along the way. You start at Monticello with Thomas Jefferson's instructions to the Corps of Discovery. Then you go from one high point to the next along the journey. You visit a Mandan earth lodge, see the grizzlies, and feel the voyagers sweat as they pull their 3,000-pound boat along the 18-mile portage of the Great Falls. The ultimate information source on the area's importance in the Lewis and Clark story, the Interpretive Center also offers a Junior Explorer program and children's summer camps. The Center offers a grades K-12 education program October-May, by reservation. The Interpretive Center chronicles the journey of Lewis and Clark, as well as the important experiences with Plains and Northwest Indians. Learn details of the plants and animals that expedition members documented. Feel the Expedition's disappointment at the impossibility of a Northwest Passage water route.