Lewis and Clark State Park

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June 6th 2009

Published: June 6th 2009

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Rovers2

Park Entrance

A really good first impression. That's the Missouri River in the background.

The History
On May 14, 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark left St Louis, heading up the Missouri River on their 2 ½-year expedition to explore and chart the lands recently acquired through the Louisiana Purchase, and to seek a “Northwest Passage” to the Pacific Ocean. On April 17, 1805, almost one year later, they made camp at Short Creek, in what is now North Dakota, one mile from our campground at Lewis and Clark State Park. Sixteen months later on their return trip, they made camp at Tobacco Garden Bay, just across the Missouri River from the Park. It was here that Lewis was mistaken for an elk and shot right in the butt by Pierre Cruzatte, one of his men, who was blind in one eye and near-sighted in the other. While he survived the painful and inglorious wound, Lewis was forced to complete the expedition lying on his belly. Lewis went on to become Governor of the Louisiana Territory. He died in 1909 from multiple gunshot wounds at a country inn called Grinder’s Stand near Nashville, Tennessee. The suspicious death was ruled a suicide, but many thought he was murdered.

The Area
In 1954, the Garrison Dam

Home Sweet Home

was completed on Missouri River, forming Lake Sakakawea, one of the three largest man-made reservoirs in the nation, stretching almost halfway across the state. The Lewis and Clark State Park sits near the western end of this lake/river, just outside the small town of Williston, ND, about 60 miles from the Canadian border. Williston, with a population of 12,500, is the largest town in Northwestern ND, and is the commercial center for the region. It is also in the center of the Williston Oil Basin, and the Bakken shale formation, which reportedly contains huge quantities of oil. Needless to say, these days Williston is a bustling town with a booming economy.

The Park
We came here to serve as volunteer campground hosts for a month. Having never seen the place, we knew we were rolling the dice a bit and were a little apprehensive. We fell in love with the park immediately. To begin with, it is in a beautiful setting. The surrounding countryside looks like something out of a western movie, with buttes, bluffs, cliffs, etc., but there is fertile-looking farmland and lots of greenery everywhere. There are 80 spacious campsites in a grassy wooded area, a marina,

The Batmobile

Our "wheels" in the park, it's very peppy and fun to drive.

picnic pavilion, bath house, rental cabins and lots of bike/hiking trails. The park manager, new to the job, greeted us right away, and made us feel at home.
Our primary duty here is to greet visitors to the campground, help them get to their campsite, answer questions, etc. We also sell firewood and ice, check restrooms and advise maintenance if they need cleaning, etc, and notify the rangers of any rules violations or other problems. For transportation around the park, they provided us with the neatest little electric truck. We call it the batmobile, and we go everywhere in it.
We soon learned about the “Friends of the Park”. Several years ago the State was threatening to close the park for budgetary reasons. A group of people from Williston, most of whom had grown up camping and fishing in the park, got together to try to do something to save the park. With money from fundraising projects and a lot of “sweat equity”, they did save the park and have made many improvements. Never in our travels have we seen such local participation and support. It is a special group, and we made many friends among them. We've enjoyed our