Lewis and Clark Pass

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In early July, 1806, a party of fourteen men, including Meriwether Lewis learned from the Nez Perce of a low pass on the Lander’s Fork of the Blackfoot River. This was part of the route called “The Road to the Buffalo,” and was used by many tribes to pass to the prairies to hunt bison. Lewis and his party crossed this pass on July 7, 1806 and saw the familiar site of Square Butte from the crest. This crest was later named Lewis & Clark Pass, even though Clark never crossed it.

Records do not show other white men crossing the pass until more than 40 years later when Father Nicolas Point traveled with the Flathead Indians between their traditional lands and the prairies to hunt bison. One interpretation of his journals is that a rock structure on top of the pass is a Celtic cross he planted on the Divide. There is still a debate over this point.
Records do not show other white men crossing the pass until more than 40 years later when Father Nicolas Point traveled with the Flathead Indians between their traditional lands and the prairies to hunt bison. One interpretation of his journals is that a rock structure on top of the pass is a Celtic cross he planted on the Divide. There is still a debate over this point.

During the second half of the 19th century, the Alice Creek drainage and Lewis & Clark Pass were surveyed as a potential route for the transcontinental railroad and a military road to connect the east and west. Governor Stevens of Montana petitioned Congress to use the corridor of the Big Blackfoot for this rail line. In 1863, Lt. John Mullan successfully argued for the current railroad route over Mullan pass in order to avoid heavy snows and having to build multiple tunnels through the mountains.

The Blackfoot corridor and Alice Creek areas were mapped between 1877 and 1911. During this survey, most of the roads and trails were still labeled “Indian Trail” or “Lewis and Clark Trail” and corresponded with earlier maps of the area. Another name was also occasionally used: Road to Lincoln.

In 1865 gold was discovered in Lincoln Gulch and the population boomed, changing the Blackfoot River valley. As the ore played out, settlers turned to homesteading, ranching, outfitting, and logging to survive. Several families developed ranches in the drainage, including the Pattersons, the Kings, and the Lambkins.

In 1920 the Forest Service built the Alice Creek Guard Station near the top of the drainage. The building was sold and moved in 1970 and today only the foundation remains. This area is still popular for camping and hiking with a short, easy 1.5 mile hike to the top of Lewis & Clark Pass. MDF leads a wildflower walk to the Pass every spring at the end of May. Please check the calendar for more details.

To learn more details about the history of this remarkable area, please read Alice Creek/Lewis and Clark Pass: an in-depth history

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