Suddenly, there loomed before them towering rock formations unlike any they had ever seen. From both sides of the river, limestone cliffs rose to a spectacular height of 1200 feet. "

Today, travel through the Gates of the Mountains aboard one of three tour boats – the"Pirogue" (named after the boats used by the Expedition, the "Sacajawea" (named after the only women and indigenous person on the Expedition), and the "Hilger Rose" (named after Nicholas Hilger, who began the tours in 1886 on a vessel named "Rose of Helena").