Bitterroot Valley

The valley extends approximately 95 miles (153 km) from Lost Trail Pass in Idaho, where it is narrow, to a point near the city of Missoula along Interstate 90 where it is wider and flatter.

[4] In early September 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition crossed Lost Trail Pass from present-day Idaho in order to connect with the overland route through the Rocky Mountains.

Returning to this site in early July of the following year, they split their Corps of Discovery, furthering their explorations both to the northeast (Lewis) and to the south (Clark).

[6] Fort Owen was established nearby in 1850, and difficult relations occurred between the white settlers and the Salish until 1891, when the native tribes were forcibly relocated to the Flathead Indian Reservation.

[4] In 1877, Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce tribe passed south through the Bitterroot Valley, fleeing the U.S. Army.

[10] The Bitterroot Valley is mentioned as the protagonist's birthplace in the song "Wild Montana Skies," from John Denver's album It's About Time (1983).

Location of the Bitterroot Valley within Montana.
Location of the Bitterroot Valley within Montana.
Bitterroot Valley, from St. Mary's Peak in the Bitterroot Range .
View of northern valley, northeast from El Capitan Peak in the Bitterroot National Forest .
Blodgett Canyon , to the west in the Bitterroot Range.