This tour allows you to literally walk in the footsteps of these early explorers that passed through the area two hundred years ago. Learn about the people who explored the vastness that encompassed the land of the Louisiana Purchase, organized by the government of the United States. Beginning with the Corps of Discovery in 1804, columns of soldiers and scientists ventured into the unknown western country. In 1820 the first of these explorations passed into the Cache la Poudre River drainage led by a major in the U. S. Army’s topographical engineers named Stephen H. Long. On the heels of Long’s party came additional expeditions.

The junction of the Poudre River and Boxelder Creek in Running Deer Natural Area was singularly significant for its role as a crossing site for early exploring parties. These groups then marched along the north bank of the Poudre until they reached the foothills to the west.