🚧 Preview site β€” not yet live.  This is a work-in-progress shared for feedback only. Please don't share the link publicly.

Places & History  Β·  Places to Go

Places to Go

Nez Perce National Historical Park is non-traditional: it consists of 38 sites spread across the homeland of the nimΓ­ipuu in present-day Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Park staff are located at the visitor center in Lapwai, ID, at Big Hole National Battlefield near Wisdom, MT, and at Bear Paw Battlefield near Chinook, MT. Visiting all of the sites takes substantial time and covers many hundreds of miles.

Start Here

Three Anchor Sites

If you're only visiting a few places, start with the three park-staffed sites β€” a visitor center and two battlefields that hold the beginning and the end of the 1877 story.

A one-story building with a white tipi and American flag out front.

Nez Perce NHP Visitor Center

The Spalding visitor center, museum, and park headquarters β€” with Watson's Store, Indian Agency cabins, and the remains of the Spalding Mission.

Lapwai, ID β†’
Wooden sign that reads 'Nez Perce National Historical Park Bear Paw Battlefield.'

Bear Paw Battlefield

The site of the final battle of the Nez Perce Flight of 1877, where Chief Joseph surrendered after a 1,170-mile journey.

near Chinook, MT β†’
Vista of rolling hills and canyons with an information panel in the foreground.

White Bird Battlefield

The site of the first battle of the 1877 Flight β€” a pivotal opening moment in the conflict between the Nez Perce and U.S. forces.

near Grangeville, ID β†’
Along the Homeland

Places of History & Story

Missions and meeting grounds, traditional gathering places, and sites that sit at the center of Nez Perce creation stories.

A wooden canoe sits in a grassy area next to a river.

Canoe Camp

Where the Nez Perce helped Lewis & Clark carve canoes in 1805 for the journey to the Pacific Ocean.

near Orofino, ID β†’
A wooden sign reading 'Welcome to Weippe where the Nez Perce Indians met Lewis and Clark in 1805.'

Weippe Prairie

A traditional camas-gathering ground β€” and the place where the Nez Perce met Lewis and Clark in 1805.

near Weippe, ID β†’
Sign reads 'Nez Perce National Historical Park Heart of the Monster.'

Heart of the Monster

Where Coyote killed the monster and, from its heart, created the Nez Perce people.

near Kamiah, ID β†’
A brown interpretive sign with the words 'Coyote Fishnet' on it.

Coyote's Fishnet

The place where Coyote flung his fishnet onto the south hill of the Clearwater River.

near Lewiston, ID β†’
A brown interpretive sign with the words 'Ant and Yellowjacket' on it.

Ant and Yellowjacket

Where Coyote turned two quarreling insects to stone β€” a story still visible in the rock today.

near Lewiston, ID β†’
A green sign with the words 'Buffalo Eddy Nez Perce National Historical Park.'

Buffalo Eddy

Hundreds of ancient petroglyphs β€” some possibly 4,500 years old β€” along the Snake River.

near Asotin, WA β†’
A large tombstone made of many rocks cobbled together.

Old Chief Joseph Gravesite

Where TΔ±wiΒ·teqΔ±s's remains are buried β€” a man who refused to sell his homeland to the U.S. government.

near Joseph, OR β†’
A river surrounded by rocky cliffs on a sunny day.

Dug Bar

The site where Chief Joseph's band forded the Snake River on May 31, 1877, under order to move to the reservation.

near Imnaha, OR β†’
A lake and meadow on the Camas Prairie.

Tolo Lake

A traditional camas gathering place β€” and the final pre-war campground of the non-treaty bands in June 1877.

near Grangeville, ID β†’
Along the Trail of 1877

Battles & Campsites of the Flight

Over 126 days and 1,170 miles, the non-treaty bands fought or camped at these places on their journey toward Canada.

An interpretive sign with the words 'Looking Glass' with the river in the background.

Looking Glass' 1877 Camp

The July 1st, 1877 attack on Looking Glass's village β€” which pushed a peaceful band into the war.

near Kooskia, ID β†’
A highway pullout with two interpretive signs and a monument shaped like Idaho.

Cottonwood Skirmish Sites

Skirmishes between the U.S. Army and Nez Perce on the Camas Prairie, July 3–5, 1877.

near Cottonwood, ID β†’
A group of conifer trees in the snow.

Lolo Trail and Pass

The ancient Nez Perce route over the Bitterroot Mountains β€” followed by Lewis and Clark, and by the non-treaty bands in 1877.

Lolo Pass (ID–MT) β†’
A metal silhouette of a Nez Perce warrior on horseback with the sunset behind.

Camas Meadows

The August 20th raid where Nez Perce warriors ran off General Howard's mule train.

near Kilgore, ID β†’
A covered pavilion with a monument next to it on a sunny day.

Canyon Creek

The second-to-last battle, where the Nez Perce held off pursuing Seventh Cavalry troops.

near Laurel, MT β†’
Missions, Homesteads & Meeting Grounds

Places of Encounter

Sites where missionaries, settlers, and Nez Perce lives intersected β€” for good and for ill.

The site of the former Lapwai Mission near Lapwai Creek.

Lapwai Mission

Established in 1836 by Henry and Eliza Spalding β€” the first Presbyterian mission to the Nez Perce.

near Lapwai, ID β†’
Two interpretive signs for Asa Smith Mission and Long Camp on a highway pullout.

Asa Smith Mission

Founded near Kamiah in 1838 by Asa and Sarah Smith, who documented the Nez Perce language.

near Kamiah, ID β†’
Saint Joseph's Mission building.

Saint Joseph's Mission

Father Cataldo established the first Roman Catholic mission to the Nez Perce in 1874.

near Culdesac, ID β†’
A brown wooden sign with the words 'Historic McBeth House β€” School.'

McBeth House

Home of Sue and Kate McBeth, missionary teachers whose work shaped the Kamiah community.

Kamiah, ID β†’
The site of Lewis and Clark's Long Camp near Kamiah.

Lewis and Clark Long Camp

Where the Corps of Discovery waited out spring snowmelt in 1806 on their return journey east.

near Kamiah, ID β†’
A dark brown sign with 'William Craig' next to a monument shaped like Idaho.

Craig Donation Land Claim

William Craig's homestead β€” the first Oregon Donation Land Act title in Idaho, taken with Nez Perce permission.

near Lapwai, ID β†’
More Places

The Full List of 38 Sites

These 23 sites are documented in depth on this website. The National Park Service maintains information on all 38 places β€” including Big Hole National Battlefield, administered as its own unit.

External Β· nps.gov

NPS Places to Go β†’

The National Park Service's official list of all 38 sites, including an interactive story map with trip-planning links for each location.

 External Β· nps.gov

Big Hole National Battlefield β†’

The August 9–10, 1877 battlefield site near Wisdom, Montana is administered as its own National Park Service unit with its own visitor center.
Historical content and photography adapted from the National Park Service (public domain). Presentation and editorial choices are Nimiipuu 54's.