The Lewis and Clark Trail-Travois Road, located on the high ridges of Garfield County, Washington, is a highly significant historical corridor that serves as a tangible link to both Native American transportation networks and early American exploration. For centuries prior to Euro-American contact, this overland route was utilized by the Nez Perce (Nimiipuu) and other regional tribes as a vital thoroughfare for seasonal migrations, trading, and hunting, connecting the Snake River valley with the upland prairies. The distinct physical depressions still visible along the landscape were carved by the continuous passage of travois-dragged sleds pulled by dogs and later horses-rendering the site a rare and well-preserved archaeological testament to indigenous travel patterns and resource utilization in the Inland Northwest.

The trail gained further national significance in May 1806, when the Lewis and Clark Expedition utilized this established Nez Perce route during their return journey eastward. Guided by native hosts, the Corps of Discovery traveled along this overland travois road to bypass the arduous currents of the Snake River as they journeyed from the Walla Walla area toward the Clearwater River. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, this preserved segment of the trail remains one of the few places in the region where the physical path trodden by the expedition and centuries of indigenous travelers can still be traced, offering invaluable insights into the early history of cultural contact and westward expansion.