The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
is a route across the United States commemorating
the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804 to
1806.
It is part of the National Trails System of
the United States.
It extends for some 3,700 miles (6,000 km)
from Wood River, Illinois, to the mouth of
the Columbia River in Oregon.
The trail is administered by the National
Park Service, but sites along the trail are
managed by federal land management agencies,
state, local, tribal, and private organizations.
The trail is not a hiking trail, but provides
opportunities for hiking, boating and horseback
riding at many locations along the route.
The trail is the second longest of the 23
National Scenic and National Historic Trails.
Beginning at the Camp Dubois recreation in
Illinois, it passes through portions of Missouri,
Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, North
Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
== Headquarters and visitor center ==
The official headquarters for the trail is
located at the National Park Service Midwest
Regional Headquarters, in Omaha, Nebraska.
The visitor center features exhibits about
the explorers and their historic trip, as
well as information about sites along 
the trail.
== History ==
In 1948 the National Park Service proposed
a "Lewis and Clark Tour-way" along the Missouri
River from St. Louis to Three Forks, Montana.
Later, Jay "Ding" Darling proposed the development
of the expedition route as a recreational
trail.
Following a 1966 report by the Bureau of Outdoor
Recreation, the National Trails System Act
of 1968 listed the route for study as a possible
National Scenic Trail.
Finally in 1978 the law was amended by the
National Parks and Recreation Act to provide
for a new category of trail, National Historic
Trails, one of which was to be the Lewis and
Clark trail.
From 2003 to 2006, the National Park Service
commemorated the bicentennial of the Lewis
and Clark Expedition with the Corps of Discovery
II traveling exhibit
