What is the Nez Perce Trail and where is it?
The Nez Perce (Nee-Me-Poo) National Historic Trail (NPNHT) was designated by Congress under the National Trails System Act in 1986 to commemorate the 1877 flight of the non-treaty Nez Perce from their homelands in eastern Oregon, Idaho, and Washington across what are today the states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. The official trail stretches approximately 1,170 miles, starting at Wallowa Lake in eastern Oregon. It crosses central Idaho, paralleling the Clearwater and Lochsa Rivers, enters Montana at Lolo Pass, and then runs south through the Bitterroot and Big Hole Valleys. It crosses Bannock Pass and re-enters Idaho near Leadore. It then runs south through the Birch Creek and Lemhi Valleys before turning eastward at Dubois and heading toward Yellowstone National Park. After a meandering route through Yellowstone, the Nez Perce National Historic Trail exits the park near the east entrance and follows the Clarks Fork River towards Billings, Montana. At Laurel the trail moves north str
