Near Dallesport in Klickitat County, Washington — The American West (Northwest)
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, June 12, 2026
1. Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Marker
" my friend ... If therefore there is anything...in this enterprise which would induce you to participate with me in it's fatigues, it's dangers and it's honors, believe me there is no man on earth with whom I should feel equal pleasure in sharing them as with yourself"
Meriwether Lewis to William Clark, June 19, 1803
President Jefferson directed Meriwether Lewis to organize, equip, and lead an expedition to explore the West and find a route to the Pacific Ocean. Lewis chose his trusted friend William Clark to join him as co-leader.
In 1804-1806, captains Lewis and Clark lead the Corps of Discovery - a party of soldiers, civilians, and interpreters - on an epic journey. They traveled through the newly purchased Louisiana Territory, over the Rocky Mountains, to the shores of the Pacific and back. Along the way, the explorers mapped the land and recorded its resources. They encountered and traded with many American Indian tribes.
The landscape has changed since Lewis and Clark explored it. Rivers have been damed, forests logged, prairies plowed. and roads built. Remnants
this page online
Jefferson's Vision
Like many others in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, President Thomas Jefferson sought the fabled Northwest Passage. He dreamed of finding a series of rivers that would cross the western mountains and make direct trade possible with Asia. Jefferson aspired to shape the destiny of the country by establishing this route for trade and commerce. In 1803, he directed Meriwether Lewis to lead an expedition across the continent to find a route to the Pacific Ocean.
" The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri river, & such principal streams of it, as, by it's course and communication with the waters of the Pacific ocean ... may offer the most direct & practicable water communication across this continent for the purposes of commerce." -- Thomas Jefferson to Captain Lewis, June 20, 1803
Erected by Washington Lewis & Clark Expedition Bicentennial Commission.
Topics and series. This historical marker
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, June 12, 2026
2. Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Marker
Location. 45° 38.623′ N, 121° 6.354′ W. Marker is near Dallesport, Washington, in Klickitat County. It is on Horsethief Lake State Park Road. near Lewis and Clark Highway. This markers is located in Horesethief Lake State Park. This marker is duplicated at several places along Washington's Lewis and Clark Trail. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Dallesport WA 98617, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Washington’s Columbia River Gorge, in the Columbia Basin and in Yakima Valley. It is also in the American Mountain West and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor. Globally, it is in North America, in the Cascade Range, on the Ring of Fire, in the Pacific Rim, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Journey Through the Columbia River Gorge (here, next to this marker); Nix luv dix - The Trading Place (here, next to this marker); "first wooden houses" (here, next to this marker); Horsethief Butte (approx. 0.2 miles away); Long Narrows Challenge (approx. Ό mile away); "the Great Mart" (approx. Ό mile away); Sheltered Homelands (approx. Ό mile away); Through the Short Narrows (approx. Ό mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Dallesport.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 9, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 9, 2026, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 6 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 9, 2026, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
