Wallowa Valley, Oregon, to Kooskia, Idaho TM Experience the Nez Perce Trail Imnaha River, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, Oregon Roger Peterson - USDA / Forest Service 1 1 Nez Perce Wallowa Valley, Oregon to Clearwater E NE C E R -M E Kooskia, Idaho P E - P Z O E O National N Weippe NA IL TM TI RA ONAL IC T The Nez Perce HISTOR Forest (Nee-Me-Poo) Orofino To Missoula R National Historic Trail V E R I 12 Kamiah E R AT W 12 R Nez Perce Reservation esignated by Congress in 1986, the entire Nez Perce A D E L 64 C Kooskia National Historic Trail (NPNHT) stretches 1,170 miles 62 Nez Perce Stites from the Wallowa Valley of eastern Oregon to the plains Nez Perce National Spalding Historic Park 162 of north-central Montana. The NPNHT includes a Craigmont Clearwater 13 Battlefield designated corridor encompassing 4,161 miles of roads, Lapwai trails and routes. St. Joseph’s Mission 95 Ferdinand Grangeville his segment of the Nez Perce National Historic Trail Lewiston T Cottonwood Fenn from Wallowa Valley, Oregon to Kooskia, Idaho is one of Asotin S N Tolo Lake A eight available tours (complete list on page 39). These are K E R I N R I V available at Forest Service offices and other federal and Sn V E a E O R k R M e A L R Buffalo Eddy S local visitor centers along the route. i ve r Rd 95 As you travel this historic trail, you will see highway signs White Bird marking the official Auto Tour route. Each Mainstream Idaho Auto Tour route stays on all-weather roads passable for To Boise all types of vehicles. Adventurous and Rugged Routes are K E R N A I V S E 129 R an alternative for those seeking the most authentic historic C o ld Idaho S route. They are often on gravel or dirt roads, so plan ahead. Washington prin Dug Bar g R Buckhorn Oregon Oregon d. Lookout R D Many locations along all Auto Tour routes may not have E u V g I B R a cell phone coverage. Designate a contact person at home to r R E d D communicate through. N O R Check weather and road conditions before embarking E D 46 Indian G R A N 46 Village Wallowa Joseph Grove on your journey. Call 511 for road condition reports Canyon Imnaha Viewpoint on major routes. For road condition information on Whitman Z Adventurous and Rugged routes inquire locally. 3 u I m M N w A a H l t A National R d R I V E R Forest 350 Wallowa Enterprise Wallowa Whitman 82 82 Minam Lostine National Joseph WALLOWA LAKE Forest To La Grande 82 Nez Perce Route Mainstream Route US Army Route Adventurous Route 15 Interstate Freeway Rugged Route 93 U.S. Highway Auto Tour Stop State Road: Paved / Unpaved Town Campground Maps in this brochure are for general orientation only and are not to scale. Please use a US Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Managment or other detailed topographic map for accurate and specific information. 0 2 4 8 12 Miles For further information on federal recreation facilities visit www.recreation.gov or call toll free 1-877-444-6777. 2 3 Experience the Nez Perce Trail TM How do I get there? Adventurous Traveler (Not recommended for motor homes or vehicles towing trailers; This Auto tour begins in Joseph in northeast Oregon. usually passable from July to October.) Joseph is located approximately 70 miles from La Grande, Oregon and 93 miles from Clarkston, Washington. A winding route that more closely follows the Imnaha and Snake Rivers is a good option for those who want to see From La Grande, OR: Follow Oregon State Highway OR-82E more of the rugged east from La Grande for 17.7 miles to Elgin, OR. Keep right to Wallowa backcountry. continue on OR-82E for 26.6 miles to Wallowa, OR. Turn right to Before you leave, examine stay on OR-82E and continue for 17.7 miles to Enterprise, OR. the map carefully, and Turn right to continue on OR-82E for 6.3 miles to Joseph, OR. watch for signs along the way. You may want to From Clarkston, WA: Follow Washington State Highway WA- have a more detailed 129S south from Clarkston, WA, for 5.9 miles to Asotin, WA. Hells Canyon, Oregon Roger Peterson - USDA / Forest Service Forest Service map. In Asotin, turn right to continue on WA-129S; in 36.4 miles you will enter Oregon. Continue on Oregon State Highway OR-3S for 43 miles to Enterprise, OR. Turn left on W North Rugged Traveler (Recommended for high clearance, four wheel drive vehicles only; St. Take first right onto Oregon State Highway OR-82 E/N usually passable from July to October.) River St. Continue on OR-82 E for 6.3 miles to Joseph, OR. Rugged Travelers are taken even closer to the actual sites of many of the events of the summer and fall of 1877. Mainstream Traveler Travelers may leave the route of the Mainstream Traveler (Passable for all types of vehicles.) in Joseph, Oregon and travel on paved and unpaved roads Staying on all-weather roads, this Auto Tour route allows into the heart of the Wallowa backcountry. Scenic views visitors to experience the Nez Perce National Historic accompany the Rugged Route to Dug Bar in the Hells Trail from a distance and will diverge from the routes Canyon National Recreation Area, where the Nez Perce actually traveled by the Nez Perce in 1877. This route crossed a swollen Snake River in May of 1877. begins at Joseph, Oregon. Travelers will head north to Note that some roads along the Rugged Routes can be Enterprise, Oregon, where they will have the option to impassable during periods of inclement weather and on take a side trip west along Oregon State Highway 82 to these routes you may not encounter other travelers for Lostine, Wallowa and Minam. From Enterprise, Oregon hours or days. Be prepared and inquire locally for details. the Mainstream traveler will follow Oregon State Highway 3 north into Washington to Clarkston and then Lewiston, Idaho. They will then travel east on Idaho State Highway 95 to White Bird Battlefield before continuing north through Grangeville to Kooskia, Idaho. Road to Dug Bar, Hells Canyon, Oregon Rattlesnake Grade, Washington Roger Peterson - USDA / Forest Service Roger Peterson - USDA / Forest Service 4 5 Prelude to the Flight of the Nez Perce The Chase Begins Prior to 1855 the Nez Perce (or, in their language, Rather than risk conflict by continuing to resist relocation, Niimíipuu, meaning “the real people” or “we the the “non-treaty” Nez Perce gathered their livestock and people”) homeland extended throughout much of north- belongings and began a painful and difficult journey to the central Idaho, northeastern Oregon and southeastern new reservation. Washington. Tension mounted as whites moved west On June 14, 1877, the Nez Perce bands reached a familiar and settled in the Nez Perce territory. In that same camas-gathering site at Tolo Lake near Grangeville, Idaho. year, the United States government made a treaty that established an approximately 7,500,000-acre Nez That night several young warriors, angered by past Perce Indian Reservation encompassing most of their atrocities and injustices at the hands of white settlers, traditional homeland. set out to avenge their people. Their raid left a number of local settlers dead. The Nez Perce decided to flee and However, the discovery of gold on Nez Perce land thus embarked upon a four-month journey with General triggered an influx of settlers and fueled more conflicts. A Howard in full pursuit. new treaty in 1863 shrank the reservation to one-tenth its original size. Some bands of Nez Perce refused to sign the treaty and became known as the “non-treaty” Nez Perce. In the spring of 1877 the government, responding to pressure from settlers, called on the military to force the “non-treaty” Nez Perce onto the new reservation in Idaho Territory. General Oliver Otis Howard, a Civil War veteran, was to carry out the task. From June to October of 1877, Hinmatóowyalahtq’it (Chief Joseph), Hototo (Lean Elk), ’Elelímyete’qenin’ (Chief Looking Glass), Chief Ollokot (Frog), Chief Piyóop’yoo ay áy (White Bird) and others led between 750 - 800 Nez Perce men, women and children along with approximately 2,000 horses over 1,170 mountainous miles to what they hoped would be safety with their friends to the east. Flight by Roger Cooke The 1877 Flight of the Nez Perce from their homelands This Auto Tour brochure describes the early days of the while being pursued by U.S. Army, General Howard Flight of the Nez Perce from the U.S. Army under the and Colonels Samual Davis Sturgis, John Gibbon and command of General Howard. In an attempt to reach their Nelson Appleton Miles is one of the most fascinating and perceived allies, the Crow, the “non-treaty” Nez Perce sorrowful events in Western U.S. history. traveled east, leaving behind their traditional homelands in search of peace. Tolo Lake, Idaho Roger Peterson - USDA / Forest Service 6 7 The 1877 Flight of the Nez Perce symbolizes the dramatic collision of cultures which continues to shape America and its people. A native people were forced to flee their homelands in a futile attempt to avoid war and save their — AS YOU TRAVEL THE TRAIL— traditional ways.