Montana nears deal to expand, preserve Travelers’ Rest State Park

HELENA – The state moved closer Thursday to closing a land deal that will expand Travelers’ Rest State Park and preserve more of the historic site used by Lewis and Clark on their journey to and from the Pacific Ocean.

State Fish, Wildlife and Parks commissioners unanimously approved buying 4.5 acres next to the park from the Travelers’ Rest Preservation and Historic Association, a nonprofit group that manages the park in Lolo. The new parcel, appraised at $310,000, will cost about $155,000.

The preservation group, in turn, plans to use the $155,000 to help build a bridge joining the north and south sections of the 51-acre park, with completion slated for September, said Doug Monger, head of the department’s Parks Division.

The state Land Board must now give final approval to the deal.

Historians and scientists announced last year they had found physical evidence of the Lewis and Clark expedition at the site. The crew, experts said, camped there for three days in September 1805 before beginning a near-fatal crossing of the Bitterroot Mountains. They also rested several days at the site in the summer of 1806 before heading home.