Lewis and Clark Trail History
The Missouri National Recreational River
From westernmost North Dakota down to the mouth of the Missouri, there are only two stretches of the Missouri River free from dams and channelization. These sections of the river flank the Lewis and Clark Lake, and together with the lake form part of the border between Nebraska and South Dakota. These tracts in combination are managed by the National Park Service as the Missouri National Recreational River.
Canoeing and kayaking are major attractions here, although exploring the "Big Muddy" by canoe or kayak is not for the novice paddler!
The Corps of Discovery passed through this portion of the Missouri River westbound from August 20 to September 8, 1804, and then on the return trip eastbound from August 31 to September 4, 1806. Notice how much better time they made navigating downstream!
On this part of the journey westward the two captains recorded their first impressions and descriptions of Plains Indian tribes, primarily of the great Sioux nation. Their council with the Yankton Sioux on August 30, 1804 was just below present-day Gavins Point Dam. Lewis became violently sick from tasting the rock and minerals at today’s Ponca State Park. Private Joseph Field killed the party's first bison near today’s Burbank, South Dakota. Expedition members discovered species such as the pronghorn, the prairie dog and the mule deer along this stretch of the river.
Extensive flooding in the mid-1900s prompted the passage of the Flood Control Act of 1944, which led to the establishment of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program. Fort Randall and Gavins Point dams have their origins in this Plan.
The official U.S. National Park Service website for the Missouri National Recreational River is here, and you can see a map of the entire MNRR in Adobe Reader format here.
The state governments of Nebraska and South Dakota operate a number of parks along this section of the Missouri River; folllowing is a list of those parks.
State Parks in Nebraska
Ponca State Park
Platte River State Park
Niobrara State Park
Lewis and Clark State Recreation Area
State Parks in South Dakota
Chief White Crane Recreation Area
Lewis and Clark Recreation Area
Randall Creek Recreation Area
