LEWIS & CLARK TRAIL
WESTERN MISSOURI
Swipe right to learn more at each stop.
You can see the impact here where early-day settlers dreamed of a new life in a new land. After the Lewis and Clark Expedition era, people settling in the northern states and in the southern states each wanted to adopt their own brand of expansion for this western frontier. This conflict led to the Civil War. Much of the turmoil began on the Missouri/Kansas border…now designated as the Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area.
This program is sponsored and funded in part by the National Park Service Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation; Illinois: the Greater Metropolis Convention and Visitors Bureau, Friends of Fort Massac, the City of Vandalia, and Illinois Ohio River Scenic Byway; Missouri: Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau, St. Charles Convention and Visitors Bureau, Washington Chamber of Commerce, Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau, Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the City of Boonville; Kansas: the Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area, the Kansas City Kansas Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Salina Chamber of Commerce, the Manhattan Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Atchison Area Chamber of Commerce, the Leavenworth Convention and Visitors Bureau, Visit Overland Park and the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.
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Kansas City, MO
Missouri’s largest city is filled with history, and served as the embarkation point for upriver and overland travelers. A monumental bronze statue of Lewis, Clark, York, Sacagawea and her son Baptiste overlook the Missouri River at Clark’s Point in Case Park. The Alexander Majors Historic House and Museum on State Line Road is the home of the bold visionary who organized the Pony Express and Overland Stage routes.
Lee’s Summit, MO
Lexington, MO
Higginsville, MO
The Battle of Island Mound State Historic Site in Butler preserves the site where African American troops engaged in a Civil War battle.
Osceola, MO
Nevada, MO
Lamar, MO
Carthage, MO
Joplin, MO
Visitors can also “Get their kicks on Route 66” at Joplin. Famous artist Thomas Hart Benton’s Joplin mural depicts the city in 1900. Great Falls, Missouri’s largest waterfall and the Wildlife Glades Conservation and Audubon Center are great outdoor getaway places
Neosho, MO
The Fort Crowder Conservation Area, the site of “Camp Swampy” in the Beetle Baily Comic Strip features hunting, hiking, bicycling and a nature center.
Cassville, MO
Branson, MO/Mark Twain National Forest
Or visitors can take a ride on the Branson Scenic Railway or experience first-hand what it is like to be aboard the Titanic on its fateful day. Visitors can ride the Branson Belle Steamboat on a two-hour cruise of Table Rock Lake. Brimming with parks, beaches and forests, Branson’s Ozark Mountain Country is a magnet for nature-loving enthusiasts.
Springfield, MO
It is the largest drive-through underground cave in America. The Dickerson Park Zoo, the Discovery Center, the Conservation Nature Center and the History Museum on the Square showcase the city’s diversity.
Independence, MO
FreedomsFrontier.org
For other Lewis and Clark Trail adventures in the area, go to: www.LCGreatRivers.org