Klondike to Mississippi River in Earth City, MO

Klondike to Mississippi River, Earth City, MO

The Klondike to Mississippi River Trail stretches 95.22 kilometers through Missouri's historic river country, featuring an elevation of 143.4 meters and following portions of the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail. This significant route offers visitors a chance to trace the footsteps of early American explorers while experiencing both the Missouri and Mississippi River confluences, complete with interpretive sites and natural viewing areas.

95.22 km MO

Points of Interest

Tavern Cave, Missouri

<a href="https://www.nps.gov/places/tavern-cave-missouri.htm" target="" rel="">https://www.nps.gov/places/tavern-cave-missouri.htm</a> Many of the places where Meriwether Lewis and William Clark’s party camped, hunted, canoed, and walked no longer look like they did in 1803–1806. They have been lost to erosion or changes in the river, both natural and man-made (whether dams and other developments).  Tavern Cave, however, remains much as it was when Lewis and Clark visited on May 23, 1804, a few days after leaving St. Charles, Missouri. For thousands of years, Indigenous people used Tavern Cave as a shelter. Later, European-American fur traders and other Missouri River travelers also utilized it. The cave entrance is at the base of a large sandstone bluff on the south bank of the river. Rocks jutting out over the cave opening made it a highly visible landmark. Many maps of the area, including the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/life-at-camp-dubois.htm" target="" rel="">Mackay-Evans map</a>, noted its location. Names and markings etched into the cave wall showed the centuries of use. Clark remarked that “many names are wrote up on the rock,” and he felt compelled to add his. Some of the markings, possibly even Clark’s, still exist today. Tavern Cave is notable for another reason. Lewis nearly fell to his death climbing on the rocks above the cave. According to Clark’s account, Lewis attempted to scale the sandstone cliffs to the rocks protruding out over the cave entrance. The brittle sandstone could not withstand Lewis’ weight, however, and he lost his footing. He fell about twenty feet before he “Saved himself by the assistance of his Knife,” presumably driving it into the rock wall to break his fall. <a href="https://www.nps.gov/places/tavern-cave.htm" target="" rel="">https://www.nps.gov/places/tavern-cave.htm</a> On May 23, 1804, two days after leaving St. Charles, the Lewis and Clark Expedition visited Tavern Cave. It's located at the south bank of the Missouri River at the base of a huge sandstone bluff called Tavern Rock. This landmark, well known to the Indians, French and Spanish trappers and traders, was first described by Lewis and Clark as: “. . . a large cave called by the French the Tavern - about 120 feet wide 40 feet deep & 20 feet high. Many different immages are painted on the rock. At this place the Ind. & French pay omage. Many names are wrote on the rock. Stoped about one mile above for Capt. Lewis who had assended the clifts which is at the said cave 300 fee[t] high, hanging over the waters..Capt. Lewis near falling from the pinecles of rocks 300 feet. He caught at 20 foot. Saved himself by the assistance of his knife . . .” On September 21, 1806, the explorers once again passed Tavern Cave on their journey home. Today, Tavern Cave sits approximately 250 feet from the edge of the Missouri River and is 20 feet smaller in width than when Lewis and Clark visited here. Tavern Cave is a High Potential Historic Site on the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/lecl/index.htm" target="" rel="" title="Link: https://www.nps.gov/lecl/index.htm">Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.</a> On May 23, 1804, two days after leaving St. Charles, the expedition visited Tavern Cave, located on the south bank of the Missouri River at the base of a huge sandstone bluff called Tavern Rock. This landmark, well known to indigenous tribes and European trappers and traders, was first described by Clark as “…an endented part of a Rock which juted over the water, Called by the french the tavern which is a Cave 40 yds. long with the river 4 feet Deep & about 20 feet high, this is a place the India[ns] & french Pay omage to, many names are wrote up on the rock Mine among others…” Clark also wrote that “Capt Lewis' assended the hill which has peninsulis projecting in raged points to the river, and was near falling from a Peninsulia […]Saved himself by the assistance of his Knife…” On September 21, 1806, the expedition once again passed Tavern Cave on their journey home. Tavern Cave is one of the best known surviving landmarks of early Missouri River exploration, and has likely provided shelter to humans for thousands of years. During the 18th and 19th centuries, it served as a stopover for both Native American bands and European-American travelers. Tavern Cave is noted on the Evans- Mackay map of circa 1795-1797, which Thomas Jefferson provided to Lewis and Clark. Today, the Missouri River channel has shifted to about 250 feet west of the cave mouth. Much of Tavern Rock, the bluff above the cave, was blasted away during the construction of a railroad. As a result, a large mound of debris now largely obscures the mouth of Tavern Cave.

Charbonier Bluff

<a href="https://www.nps.gov/articles/charbonier-bluff.htm" target="" rel="">https://www.nps.gov/articles/charbonier-bluff.htm</a> Charbonier Bluff is a High Potential Historic Site on the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/lecl/index.htm" target="" rel="" title="Link: https://www.nps.gov/lecl/index.htm">Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.</a> On May 16, 1804, the expedition passed Charbonier Bluff, the highest point on the lower Missouri River. Historically distinguished by an exposed coal seam at the base, French explorers in the early 18th century named it “La Charbonniere” (the charcoal). Clark noted, “passed the Coal hill (Call by the natives Carbonear) this hill appears to Contain great quantytes of Coal, and also ore of a rich appearance haveing greatly the resemblance of Silver.” He also wrote that “from this hill the village of St. Charles may be Seen at 7 miles distance.” Dating to prehistoric times, Native Americans established permanent camps at Charbonier Bluff. A high cliff of sandstone and loess soil, it remained a landmark for river traffic along the lower Missouri into the 19th century. The exposed coal seam provided a source of fuel for river traffic and settlers up until sometime during the 1850s, when changes in the Missouri River course covered it over. From 1886 to 1972, the bluff property was a component of the St. Stanislaus Seminary. The ruins of a Jesuit chapel built over an American Indian burial mound along the ridgetop remain extant. In 1973, the St. Louis County Department of Parks acquired a 795-acre tract that included Charbonier Bluff. The site is managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Fort Belle Fontaine

<a href="https://www.nps.gov/places/fort-belle-fontaine.htm" target="" rel="">https://www.nps.gov/places/fort-belle-fontaine.htm</a> Fort Belle Fontaine is about 20 miles north of St. Louis, Missouri.  Built in 1805 under the direction of Lt. Col. Jacob Kingsbury, the fort was the first U.S. military installation west of the Mississippi River.  The trading fort was an important gathering place for officers and enlisted men; Native peoples; and French, Spanish and American settlers, trappers, and traders.   The original site of the Corps campsite and the first Fort Belle Fontaine have been destroyed by shifts in the Missouri River channel. The grounds below the bluff became a popular summer retreat during the late 1930s and in 1936 the Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a grand limestone staircase down from the bluff along with a number of other structures. Today, Fort Belle Fontaine Park is a 305-acre park of St. Louis County.  Fort Belle Fontaine is a <a href="https://www.nps.gov/lecl/learn/historyculture/places.htm" target="" rel="">High Potential Historic Site</a> on the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/lecl/index.htm" target="" rel="">Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.</a> The expedition first camped on an island opposite Coldwater Creek on May 14, 1804. During 1805, Cantonment Belle Fontaine was built on the south bank of the Missouri River at the mouth of Coldwater Creek by companies of the 1st U.S. Infantry under Lt. Colonel Jacob Kingsbury. The expedition visited the new fort on their return journey. On September 22, 1806, Ordway wrote that “towards evening we arived at Bell fountain a Fort or cantonement on South Side which was built since we ascended the Missouri & a handsome place. we moovd. a short distance below and Camped, the Company of Artillery who lay at this fort fired 17 Rounds with the field peaces the most of our party was Quartered in the Canonment.” The next day they returned to St. Louis. The original cantonment housed a government-operated trading post (or factory), until that function was transferred to Fort Osage and Fort Madison in 1808. By 1809, the post had deteriorated and relocation to a new site above a bluff began. The new Fort Belle Fontaine, completed in 1811, included 30 buildings, several blockhouses, a rectangular palisade, and an arsenal. In 1826, the second fort was abandoned and replaced by Jefferson Barracks, a new post located in St. Louis. The City of St. Louis acquired the Fort Belle Fontaine property in 1913 and built a detention home and training school for boys. In the 1930s the Work Progress Administration (WPA) built a “grand staircase” of stone steps from the riverbank to the top of the bluff, as well as trails and facilities. Now a St. Louis County park, <a href="https://www.stlouisco.com/parksandrecreation/parkpages/fortbellefontaine" target="" rel="">Fort Belle Fontaine</a> is listed on the National Register as an archeological site.

Lewis and Clark Confluence Tower

<a href="https://www.nps.gov/places/lewis-clark-confluence-tower.htm" target="" rel="">https://www.nps.gov/places/lewis-clark-confluence-tower.htm</a> In the village of Hartford, Illinois, the Lewis & Clark Confluence Tower rises an impressive 150 feet above the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, the two longest rivers in all North America. Built to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the beginning of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, construction on the monument was completed on May 14, 2010. How does it relate to the Lewis & Clark expedition, you ask? Well, in many ways, it was the first step on what would become known as the Lewis & Clark Expedition. In December of 1803, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark established camp at Wood River, otherwise known as Camp Dubois. Located along the Mississippi River between St. Louis and the modern-day Confluence Tower, the camp served as the winter quarters for the two men and those who joined them on their expedition. Here, they spent the winter gathering supplies and recruiting other intrepid explorers from St. Louis. Then, in May of 1804, the group embarked on their historic journey westward from the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. For those wishing to get a bird’s eye view of the area, the Confluence Tower has observations decks at the 50, 100, and 150-foot marks, and all three levels are accessible by either stairs or elevator. Exhibits focusing on Lewis and Clark and the importance of the Missouri-Mississippi Confluence can be found on every level. Guests can also request a short, guided tour that ends with a trip to the highest level of the structure. On particularly clear days, parts of St. Louis and the Gateway Arch can be seen from the upper decks.

Nearby

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