Not from MN, but I helped a friend drive a Penske Truck from NM to Portland, we followed I-84 (Starting in Utah/Idaho) which seemed to be following the Oregon Trail. We didn't have the time to explore any. Seems a lot to see just off the 84. In both Idaho & Oregon. However, it seems a little south for using from MN.
A few years earlier, my family & I camped for a few days at
Massacre Rocks State Park. It proved to be a very neat place, very scenic with campsites on a 'bluff' above the Snake River with white pelicans flying & landing & taking off from the river.
10 miles W of American Falls, ID
36 miles W of Pocatello, ID
83 miles W of Idaho Falls, ID
Very neat place.
Massacre Rocks State Park is located off of I-86 at exit #28, 10 miles west of the city of American Falls, Idaho.
There are many places with ties to the Oregon Trail accross Idaho. Such as:
At Massacre Rocks State Park: Remnants of the Oregon Trail are seen easily there.
Register Rock, located two miles from the park, is home to a huge boulder that holds the signatures of Oregon Trail emigrants who stopped for an evening of rest before continuing on their journeys. A scenic picnic area surrounds Register Rock, where emigrant name are inscribed, creating a desert oasis for the modern traveler. Remnants of the Oregon Trail are seen easily from either end of the park.
More on Oregon Trail in Idaho at
Nat'l Oregon/California Trail Museum.
Southwest IdahoWe have been on some of the I-94 to I-90 Route (mostly in ND & MT, but once in MN from Fargo to Twin Cities):
On the western side of North Dakota 27 miles east of the Montana state line, Theodore Roosevelt National Park is very worthwhile to see. The South Unit entrance is in Medora, ND. Medora is accessible via Interstate 94 Exits 24 and 27 in North Dakota. T. Roosevelt is a really nice place to see Bison, at times even in the campground. We visited both units that year. North unit is more into the oil boom area. Road was good back then, but after getting more into the boom area, lot of truck traffic. Maybe worse now?
The colorful Little Missouri River Badlands provides the scenic backdrop to the park & home to a variety of prairie plants and animals including bison, prairie dogs, pronghorn, elk, mule deer and wild feral horses.
T. Roosevelt.
The Painted Canyon Visitor Center is located 7 miles east of Medora on I-94 at Exit 32.
The ND Badlands are in TRNP as mentioned. Very neat shapes & colors. Not been to the SD Badlands, can't compare them.
Near Bismarck and/or Mandan, ND, Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park is interesting.
FortLincoln.ComNorth of Bismarck on US 83,
The North Dakota Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center between Bismarck & Minot at Washburn. Not sure about overnighting, but neat to visit, nice place to take a break. Pretty vista.
Not far from Washburn, the
Knife River Indian Villages Nat'l Historic Site was very interesting.
More toward Minot on 83 N,
Lake Sakakawea State Park with links to other sites. Also in the area,
Cross Ranch State Park.
East of Billings on 94, we drove by
Pompey's Pillar not knowing what it was in 2009, about 25 miles east of Billings, Montana, on our way to Yellowstone. "It bears the only remaining physical evidence of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which appears on the trail today as it did 200 years ago. On the face of the 150-foot butte, Captain William Clark carved his name on July 25, 1806, during his return to the United States through the beautiful Yellowstone Valley." Might be worth a stop, if time allows.
A short detour down from the Route: On 1-90 between Billings & Sheridan, Little Bighorn
Battlefield Nat'l Mon't has a special place in history. Not far from Sheridan.
We did the Pacific Coast (from Washington to SoCal) with a stop in the Red Woods by the California/Oregon state lines, but it was in '86. Can't recall just were we stayed in them. Really neat area however. Went up the coast from SoCal in '97. But we skipped the Red Woods & went inland more to Crater Lake.
:CDesertHawk- Las Cruces, NM USA
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