From prehistoric times through to the modern day, explorers have braved the elements to travel, record, and map our country. Here are just a few of the more well-known explorers who changed the rugged landscapes of this nation forever.
In Search of Gold
In 1542, just 50 years after Columbus reported a new continent in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the Spanish conquistador Francisco Vasquez de Coronado searched for gold in what would become the southwestern United States. Follow in the footsteps of Coronado's band of 335 Spaniards, 1300 native Mexicans, and four Franciscan monks along the Coronado Trail Scenic Byway in Arizona. Although they didn’t find the legendary treasures of gold, silver, jewels and religious artifacts at the Seven Cities of Gold, Coronado and his group were the first Europeans to explore the Southwest, find and document great natural treasures, and meet Native American tribes, the descendants of whom still populate the area.
You can see one of these great natural treasures when you visit the Kaibab Plateau-North Rim Parkway in Arizona. As you look out over the Grand Canyon from its North Rim, transport your thoughts back in time five centuries and imagine these explorers standing on the South Rim several miles south of you, the first Europeans to encounter the awe-inspiring expanse of the Grand Canyon.
In Search of Trade Routes
In 1609, just two years after the first English colony was established in Jamestown, Virginia, explorer Henry Hudson sailed north on the Hudson River to look for an ocean route through the American continent to China. He came within miles of encountering the French explorer Samuel de Champlain, who was sailing from the north along Lake Champlain. In 2009, come to New York to commemorate the 400th anniversary of these two epic voyages at many events and festivals along the Lakes to Locks Passage. Follow the routes of these explorers by driving, biking, or boating between Quebec, Canada and Manhattan along Lake Champlain, Lake George, the Champlain Canal, and the Hudson River. If a trip of 340 miles over 25 days daunts you, don't worry! There are plenty of shorter, day trips for your own historic explorations.
Mapping a New Nation
In 1803, the newly independent United States of America more than doubled in size when Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory from France. Jefferson chose Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore and map this new land.
The Corps of Discovery's Keelboat at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center (IL) [4]
The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail traces their epic journey from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, and crosses or follows several of the America's Byways. Visit the Lewis and Clark State Historic Site on the Meeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Route in May and December and watch the annual re-enactments of their arrival and departure from the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers in Illinois in 1804 and 1806, respectively. Learn of one of the few armed conflicts during their journey at Fischer's Lilly Park on the Native American Scenic Byway in South Dakota. Retrace their route through the mountains of northern Idaho along the Northwest Passage Scenic Byway, where the expedition stopped to build dugout canoes at Canoe Camp and stayed with the Nez Perce at Long Camp. Finally, parallel the last leg of their journey along the Columbia River on the Historic Columbia River Highway in Oregon.
While they didn’t find a waterway to the Pacific, Lewis and Clark collected 108 biological and zoological specimens which they sent back to President Thomas Jefferson. With the help of Shoshone interpreter and guide Sacagawea, they developed friendly relations with the Shoshone and Nez Perce nations, who fed, gave directions, and sold horses to the hungry and weary travelers.
This small expeditionary group Jefferson called the "Corps of Discovery" opened up the West for mountain men, pioneers, and prospectors to follow throughout the next century.
Trappers and Traders
From 1820 to 1840, European demand made beaver pelts more precious than gold. French and English mountain men roamed the wilderness among local Indian tribes, trapping beavers and trading the furs at "rendezvous" held all over the Intermountain West.
Mountain-man Jim Bridger was among the first of these explorers to see the geysers of Yellowstone in Wyoming and the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Travel the Logan Canyon Scenic Byway in Utah and the Pioneer Historic Byway in Idaho to see the valleys, mountains and forests where he stashed his furs in underground "caches" -- in the appropriately-named Wasatch-Cache National Forest. Come each year to mountain man rendezvous held all over the western United States to buy trinkets and hear stories from modern-day mountain men.
Trapper and fur trader Jedediah Smith was the first non-native to climb the High Sierras of Nevada and California, and explore the lands from San Diego, California to the Columbia River in Oregon and Washington. The Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada follows in Smith's footsteps and crosses or parallels many of the America's Byways along the way. Read our story about these byways on the Pacific Crest Trail, then hike the Pacific Crest Trail yourself to see the inspirational beauty of Yosemite, the crystal-clear serenity of Lake Tahoe, and the breathtaking grandeur of Mount Rainier, Mount Hood, and the Columbia River Gorge, just as "Old Jed" Smith saw them from 1827 to 1829. Reports from mountain-man explorers like him blazed the way for pioneers to settle in these rugged lands.
Modern Day Explorers
Whether searching for a new world, mapping out new trade routes, or finding adventures in an untamed land, the United States has a rich history of discovery and rediscovery by each generation of inhabitants. Let America’s Byways take you to places where you can push the limits of your own frontiers, map out your own adventures, and explore places you have to see to believe.
