Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Big Hole National Battlefield is beautiful and haunting.
All visits should start at the visitors center, where rangers are on hand to answer ques-
tions in addition to an excellent 18-minute video and museum exhibit on the battle, the key
players, the events leading up to the Nez Perce War, and the fateful encounter at the Big
Hole.
There are several excellent self-guided trails (buy the printed guide available in the vis-
itors center or at the trailhead; the details it provides are more than worth the $1-2) that lead
visitors to various scenes of the battle. On hot summer days or wet spring days when the
river bottom is soggy or buggy, one trail leads up into the forest for a firsthand look at the
location from which the Army mounted its surprise attack. You can still see small mounds,
called rifle pits, where the soldiers scratched the earth by hand or with their rifles to protect
themselves from the Nez Perce's return fire. The Nez Perce sniper areas are pointed out,
as well as the location where the Nez Perce managed to take control of an Army cannon.
When the lower trail along the river bottom is dry, visitors can walk among the tipi frames
erected where historians have learned the 89 camps stood. Markers indicate where numer-
ous Nez Perce died.
