Lewis and Clark Trail State Park is a 37-acre camping park with 1,333 feet of freshwater shoreline on the Touchet River. The park is a rare treasure of old-growth forest and river in the midst of the surrounding arid grassland.

Marine Park: No

Summer: 6:30 a.m. to dusk.
Winter: 8 a.m. to dusk.

The park is open year round for camping and day use. The day-use area is available for overnight camping in winter.

Campground closed Sept. 15, reopens May 28.

Camping:
Check-in time, 2:30 p.m.
Check-out time, 1 p.m.
Quiet hours: 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.

The park is located on the historic Nimipooiskit trail that extends from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. Remnants of the trail can be observed near the park.

The explorers Lewis & Clark (for whom the park is named) passed through the property in 1806 and commented on the unusual character of the vegetation.

The park was originally homesteaded by the Bateman family in 1864 and was the site for neighboring farmers' post-harvest picnics and games. Homesteading began in the region in 1859. Some of the original homestead sites still remain.

Mammoth fossils have been found near the park. It is believed they were carried in during the numerous Ice Age Floods. The Columbian mammoth fossil is the official fossil of Washington state.

In 1996, catastrophic flooding occurred, laying down a million cubic feet of sediment in the park. Two additional major floods happened within the year. Periodic flooding is characteristic of riparian (river-related) terrain, and gives the park its distinctive character.

The day-use-area restroom was constructed in 1934 from 10,000 stones acquired from theTouchet River. The day-use-area kitchen shelter was also built in the 1930s and exhibits features of that period.

"Long-leafed" ponderosa pine still grow here, as Lewis and Clark recorded in their journals. The ponderosa are old-growth trees, as are the cottonwood that abound in the park.

Periodic flooding gives the park its marked riparian character. Flooding lays down sediment and slows competition from weedy species, allowing the unusual vegetation of pine trees in the midst of arid grassland.

Another contributing influence to the existence of the pines is the park's very wet, almost "rainforest" mini-climate. The narrow piece of Touchet River valley, on which the park is built, constricts airflow and causes moisture to remain in the park.

Living history depictions of the story of Lewis and Clark take place Saturdays at 8 p.m. from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Other interpretive programs (i.e., living history and on-site presentations) are available on request. Subjects include history, botany, animals and astronomy. Call (509) 337-6457 for information.

In addition to these oral presentations, the park provides an interpretive display with information on Lewis and Clark and original area homesteaders. A large reader board on Lewis and Clark can be found in the day-use area.