Blaine County Museum & Bear Paw Battlefield

   If you’re planning on visiting the Bear Paw Battlefield stop at the museum first to watch the video about the battlefield. The museum also has good exhibits on the local history which includes dinosaurs, Native Americans, ranchers, and homesteaders.

    The main floor of the museum is accessible. The basement level has steps and no elevator.

   RVs can be parked on Do Drop In Road near the museum entrance.  Museum  48.59078, -109.23124

   The battlefield is about fifteen miles south of the museum. This is  where Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe surrendered to the US army and stated "From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.", thus ending a 1,200 mile, four month flight from Idaho to Bear Paw which was just 40 miles south of their goal in Canada. 800 people started on the journey but only 431 were left to surrender due to death from battles, disease and exposure, or because they managed to escape and enter Canadian territory. Most of the Nez Perce who made it to Canada found that it was too cold and inhospitable, forcing them to come back to the US and live on the Idaho reservation.

   The battlefield is so peaceful that’s it’s hard to imagine the tragic scene of 142 years ago. A few interpretive panels explain the reasons the Nez Perce left Idaho and the battle that took place on the prairie bluffs and creek bottomland of Bear Paw. A 1 1/4 mile interpretive trail makes a loop through the battlefield.

   The ground around the interpretive signs is very uneven and lumpy making wheelchair access difficult. The signs are too far from the road to be read without leaving your vehicle. The trail is mowed grass and hilly so it is not accessible.

   The parking area is large enough for any RV.  Battlefield  48.37798, -109.21269