Notes

The Expedition of Lewis & Clark. Today, millions of people call the American West home, but much of this land remained unmapped and sparsely populated until the early 19th century.Lewis and Clark started their journey across North America in the spring of 1804. The journey ended about one and a half years later in the rainy forests near the Pacific coast.But it was late fall when the group arrived and the Corps of Discovery couldn’t travel back over the rugged mountains in winter. So the men built a winter shelter near the south side of the Columbia River.The site has a Visitor Center where guests can see exhibits on life at the fort and on local Native Americans. They can also view two films on the Lewis and Clark journey. Visitors can tour the log cabins. They contain bunk beds, tables, and other items Corps members could have used during their winter stay. Artisans used tools of the early 1800s to make the items in the cabins. There are several trails through the woods around the fort. Visitors who walk the trails can see wildlife such as deer, elk, and bald eagles. Park rangers also lead walks along the trails, and canoe trips on the Lewis and Clark River.Fort Clatsop hosts a “Wintering Over” program each year as well. The event features volunteers dressed as men who were part of the Lewis and Clark group. For two days, the re-enactors live in the fort as the Corps of Discovery did. Visitors can talk with the men. They can also watch the re-enactors hunt, cook food, and do chores that would have been common in the time of Lewis and Clark. During summer months, there are demonstrations of early nineteenth-century candle making, hide tanning, and riflery. Check with the Visitors Center for exact dates and times.Fort Clatsop is one of 12 units that make up Lewis and Clark National Park. Information on other units is available at the Fort Clatsop Visitor Center.You’ll track down woolly mammoths, climb mountains of salt, and escape from exploding volcanoes in this multi-player game. It will take you across the Northwest Passage, a waterway that Sacagawea, Lewis, and Clark discovered.Recollections Recording Company presents: “Two Days with the Corps of Discovery.” Narrator Sawyer Keel reads two entries from Meriwether Lewis’s personal journal which offers a firsthand account of the remarkable expedition into the American West.