Enjoy your Yellowstone National park vacation by horseback with our trip entitled “The Washburn Expedition”. The Washburn Expedition is a progressive travel trip of fifty to sixty miles following the route of General Henry Dana Washburn as he and several other men “discovered” the Upper Yellowstone and worked diligently to make it a national park. This trip will both explore the rugged wilderness of this region and discuss the history that has helped to shape this area.

A native of Vermont, General Henry Dana Washburn, following the Civil War, was appointed surveyor general of Montana in 1869. In 1870 he headed the Washburn-Langford-Doane expedition to find the headwaters of the Yellowstone River and discover what is now known as Yellowstone National Park.

Joining us for this expedition is special guest Dr. Kim Alan Scott, author of Yellowstone Denied: The Life of Gustavus Cheney Doane (University of Oklahoma Press, 2007). Captain Gustavus Cheney Doane was a member of the Washburn-Langford-Doane expedition.

We will stay along Lake Yellowstone our first night, then move down and ford the Yellowstone River, each day discussing the trip and trials of the Washburn, Langford, Doane party. Our last night will be spent on the shores of Heart Lake discussing the perils of Truman Everts, one of Washburn’s party, who was lost for 37 days and faced life and death perils. We will also discuss the current values of the National Park system set in motion by this historic party. Our information is pulled from the published journals and papers of the members of this party.

Come follow the trail by of the founders of Yellowstone National Park via horseback. It will be an educational trip you will never forget.