How to Use the Key Guide

Campsite Number
There are 573 historic campsites in the Key Guide. Each campsite was given a number 1 through 573. Letters follow the numbers if the campsite was used more than once. The 573 locations were used for 623 visits (50 repeat visits). These campsite numbers are placed on regional topological maps in Lewis and Clark Road Trips. The Key Guide table is found in 23 pages of spreadsheets in the print version.

Group Leader
When the entire expedition traveled as a single party, Lewis and Clark are the designated leaders. On many occasions the Corps of Discovery split into smaller parties. Usually there were two groups, one led by Lewis, and the other led by Clark. Sometimes small parties were led by one of the Sergeants or others.

Journey
The direction of travel is indicated by
O = Outbound to the Pacific Coast
R = Return to the East
S = Side Trip (Exploring Party)

Date
Date or dates the campsite was occupied.

County
County the campsite is located in.

State
State the campsite is located in.

Location
The approximate location for each campsite is given.The exact point at which the expedition camped is unknown except for a very few spots. Decades of scholarly research by Bob Bergantino and others have resulted in “best guesses,” that generally are in close agreement with one another to within a few hundred feet. However, these exact estimates have not been made public.

How Approximate are the Locations?
Locations in the table are specified to within a half mile. This is intentional. Almost all the campsites are inaccessible to the public—either because they are on private land, or because they are under lakes created by modern dams. In the past, locations have been troubled by trespassers wishing to explore the campsites. Out of respect for their privacy rights, we have decided to give only approximate positions.

Trail Reference Points

• The reference points for the location of campsites are usually the nearest sizeable towns found in standard maps and atlases.
• For the parts of the expedition journey that are along rivers (all but a few hundred miles) the reference locales are on the same side of the river as the campsite because bridges across the rivers are often far distant from them.
• In unpopulated areas of Montana and Idaho, road junctions may be the reference sites.
• In some cases river confluences are the reference points.

Journal Entry: Journal Volume and Page Numbers
Expand the + sign at the far right end of the column to see journal entry information. All of the journal entries for each campsite location number are given in this area; they are listed by volume and page numbers.

Journal Volumes and Authors
There are nine volumes of Journals in The Definitive Edition of the Lewis & Clark Journals: Volumes 2-8 are the Journals of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark; Volume 9, the Journals of John Ordway and Charles Floyd; Volume 10, the Journal of Patrick Gass; and Volume 11, the Journal of Joseph Whitehouse. Read more about the printed journals and Online Journals.