Lewis and Clark Adventure - Kansas

Now you have a chance to experience life and the expedition just as Lewis and Clark did 200 years ago. It’s all laid out for you here when you take the Ready-Made Lewis and Clark Adventure. Lewis and Clark began their adventure “where the two rivers meet.” That would be where Kansas River and the Missouri River meet in Kansas City, Kansas. This point is now a six acre park called The Lewis and Clark Historic Park at Kaw Point. There are signs posted around an education pavilion explaining the historic expedition, and facilities such as boating, trails, and fishing.

As you leave Kansas City, you can head to Bonner Springs for more adventure. Here you’ll find two different places to explore, the first being the Wyandotte County Historical Society and Museum. Touring this museum you’ll find highlights such as one of the few Native American dugout canoes that are still in existence and a 1903 American LaFrance Steam Fire Engine. Spread over 172 acres of Bonner Springs is the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame. Some of the features of this Hall of Fame are the National Farmer’s Memorial, the Museum of Farming, and the Gallery of Rural Art.

Traveling a little further you will find Leavenworth, which is now in the area where Lewis and Clark camped on the Missouri River. If you tour the downtown area you can shop in the many stores and boutiques, and relax on a 1913 C. W. Parker Carousel in the Carousel Museum. Find your way to Fort Leavenworth, the oldest continuously operated military fort on the west side of the Mississippi River. Included at the fort is the Frontier Army Museum where you can see the “Beyond Lewis and Clark” exhibit and other Army artifacts.

Leaving Leavenworth, you’ll travel on to Atchison, an area that Lewis and Clark themselves called one of the most beautiful plains they ever saw. The date then happened to be July 4th, and Lewis and Clark then observed the very first Independence Day in the West. They named two area creeks in honor of this event, Fourth of July 1804 Creek and Independence Creek. They still stand in the area in present day Atchison.

Visiting the Atchison County Historical Society Museum in the Santa Fe Depot, you’ll find Lewis and Clark Expedition displays, along with exhibits on Atchison’s history, including one of their most famous residents, Amelia Earhart. Explore the Victorian mansion overlooking the Missouri river that was Earhart’s birthplace while you wander around the downtown either by foot or trolley.

Continuing along the route, you’ll arrive in White Cloud, where Lewis and Clark found themselves exploring both sides of the Missouri River. On the edge of the river you’ll find the Four-State Lookout, an area where you can see Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and sometimes Iowa if it’s a very clear day.

Lewis and Clark Adventure - Kansas