State of Montana Website Montana State Parks Website
Contacts & Sources of More Information

Planning Your Trip—Where to Stay and What to Do

Montana State Parks
1420 E. 6 th Ave.
PO Box 200701
Helena, MT 59620-0701
(406) 444-3750
stateparks.mt.gov

Travel Montana
301 South Park
P.O. Box 200533
1-800-VISIT-MT

The National Park Service's unique contribution to the bicentennial—the Corps of Discovery II: 200 Years to the Future —is a traveling education center that will recreate the epic journey and be the unifying component for the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial observance.

Traveling in Groups

If you are planning a trip for a group, you will frequently need a permit to float, camp or picnic in certain areas. Below are some of the agencies who oversee these areas.

Montana State Parks

  • Fish, Wildlife & Parks—contact the closest regional office to the park you wish to visit.

Wild and Scenic Section of the Missouri River

  • BLM, Lewistown (406) 538-7461
  • BLM, Fort Benton (406) 622-5185

US Army Corps of Engineers

River Flows

United States Geological Survey

Missouri River

  • BLM, Lewistown (406) 538-7461
  • BLM, Fort Benton (406) 622-5185
  • Flow information:
    BOR, Billings (406) 247-7381

Yellowstone River

  • FWP, Billings (406) 247-2940

Map Resources

Bureau of Land Management Maps
222 N. 32 nd St.
PO Box 36800
Billings, MT 59107-6800
(406) 255-2888

BLM has a waterproof floater’s map for the wild and scenic section of the Missouri River. It comes in two parts and provides information about making the trip as well as a mile-by-mile report. The maps are $4 for each part and are available at most BLM offices (maps 1 & 2 are printed back-to-back and cover Fort Benton to Slaughter River; maps 3 & 4 cover Slaughter River to James Kipp campground).

BLM has also recently published a map in two parts for the Yellowstone River from Livingston to the mouth of the Bighorn River near Custer.

Forest Service’s Forest Visitors Series Map
USDA Forest Service
Northern Region Headquarters, Federal Building
PO Box 7669
Missoula, MT 59807
(406) 329-3511

USGS Topographical Maps
US Geological Survey
Branch of Information Services
Box 25280
Denver, CO 80225-0286
1-800-USA-MAPS

Montana Natural Heritage Program
Interactive and topographical maps of Montana on the web.
Natural Resource Information System

Lewis and Clark Maps
Portage Route Chapter
Lewis & Clark Trail Heritage Foundation Inc.
PO Box 2424
Great Falls, MT 59403

USDA Forest Service—Northern Region
Federal Building
200 E. Broadway
PO Box 7669
Missoula, MT 59807
(406) 329-3511

More About Lewis and Clark

Travel Montana
301 South Park
P.O. Box 200533
1-800-VISIT-MT

Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation
PO Box 3434
Great Falls, MT 59403

Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
National Park Service
1709 Jackson Street
Omaha, NE 68102
(402) 661-1804

Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center
4201 Giant Springs Road
PO Box 1806
Great Falls, MT 59403-1806

On the Web

Books

  • Along the Trail with Lewis and Clark by Barbara Fifer and Vicky Soderberg
  • The Journals of Lewis and Clark abridged edition, edited by Bernard DeVoto
  • The Traveler’s Guide to the Lewis and Clark Trail by Julie Fanselow
  • Lewis and Clark: Historic Places Associated with Their Transcontinental Exploration (1804-06) by Roy E. Appleman, National Park Service
  • The Story of the Lewis and Clark Expedition by R. Conrad Stein (for 2 nd - 4 th graders)

Books On the Web