For centuries, American Indians used a principal trail between the Columbia-Walla Walla and Snake-Clearwater river confluences. On the advice of the Walla Walla people, the Lewis and Clark Expedition followed this overland route, described as “a good road” with plenty of deer and antelopes, good water and grass, and level country. The expedition traveled approximately 100 miles on this route between April 30 and May 5, 1806. Later, other explorers, fur trappers, traders, miners, and settlers also followed the route. Its exact location is unclear, but most historians believe it passed through Dayton.