Gibbons Pass Interpretive Site

Determined to find a better route over the Continental Divide, Lewis and Clark parted company at Traveler's Rest near Lolo, Montana on July 3, 1806. Lewis headed northeast through Hellgate Canyon and over Lewis and Clark Pass while Clark followed the Bitterroot River southeast to near present-day Sula. Clark's party then followed an ancient Indian route that rose from the valley floor to what is now Gibbons Pass and descended into the Big Hole Valley. Chief Joseph and other non-treaty Nez Perce would traverse this same route to reach the Big Hole Valley during the Nez Perce War of 1877. Present facilities include interpretive signs along the Bitterroot-Big Hole Road and a toilet at the top of Gibbon's Pass.