Lewiston

Lewiston offers travelers a range of cultural and historical points of interest. Downtown Lewiston forms a cultural corridor featuring local art, history, museums, and educational opportunities. Other specific highlights include the Center for Arts & History, the facilities at Hells Gate State Park, the Lewiston Levee Parkway Trail, and Hells Gate Marina. When planning your trip, you can choose between cultural offerings, historical topics, and activities at the marina.

Culture and History in Different Formats

The Center for Arts & History offers exhibitions, lectures, musical performances, films, and hands-on art workshops for the campus and the general public. Its program therefore includes both exhibitions and performances, as well as workshops with a practical focus on art. If you include cultural offerings in your trip plans, you can consider these different formats rather than focusing on just one type of program. Downtown Lewiston’s cultural corridor adds local art, history, museums, and educational opportunities to the mix.

Two facilities at Hells Gate State Park offer different historical perspectives. The Lewis and Clark Discovery Center features indoor and outdoor exhibits, as well as a film about Lewis and Clark’s journey through Idaho. The Jack O’Connor Hunting Heritage and Education Center displays hunting trophies belonging to outdoor writer and conservationist Jack O’Connor. Comparing them helps you decide what you’re interested in: one center focuses on a historic journey, while the other features O’Connor’s hunting trophies.

Trail and Hells Gate Marina

The Lewiston Levee Parkway Trail is 13 miles long and part of the Clearwater and Snake River National Recreation Trail. Interpretive signs along the trail provide information about Lewis and Clark’s historic journey to the Pacific coast. This offers another way to explore the same historical topic: the Discovery Center focuses on the journey through Idaho, while the trail signs cover the journey to the Pacific coast. The interpretive signs connect the trail to a specific historical topic and give its description a distinct focus beyond its length. The film and exhibits at the Discovery Center offer a different way of sharing this history than the signs along the trail.

Jet boat tours to Hells Canyon depart from Hells Gate Marina on most summer days. Check tour availability before your trip. The marina also has a public boat launch; conditions may vary. The tours and the boat launch offer different ways to make use of the marina: the tours go into Hells Canyon, while the launch is available for public use.

You might focus on cultural and educational opportunities, Lewis and Clark connections, or jet boat tours into Hells Canyon. Consider which of these interests matter most for your plans, then compare specific hotel options based on your personal criteria.

For an overview of the wider area, see: Nez Perce County.