We have great service and they were friendly! My daughter is 6 so we did the short ride and she…read moreloved it! The short ride is only 3 minutes but that was perfect for her!

I'm not much of a Yelper but felt called to come on here and share my experience…read more Firstly, I was shocked by the rudeness of one of their staff members, didn't catch her name. She's a little bigger, brunette with a lot of tattoos. I'm not sure if she was having a bad day, or just having a hard time in general, but there was a meanness in her that was completely unwarranted. Secondly, from a horsemanship perspective, these horses were not in good shape. Dirty, cinched up, waiting on the rail, saddled up in the heat all the day type of "horsemanship". Not my style and definitely not something I recommend supporting. There's a better way and I hope they find it! The only reason I give one star, rather than no stars is because Cindy our trail guide was a gem.

So glad to have found this place on a camping trip to Ponderosa Campground! A professional business…read morewith extremely knowledgeable and experienced staff. I had the pleasure of having Baileigh as my guide on a solo trek to the viewpoint. Was like taking a ride with a great friend, and was the most fun I had on my trip to McCall. With a passion for horses that can not be measured combined with many years of experience, I always felt that I was in capable hands on the trail. Some of the best things come in small packages! My horse, Timmy, had a gentle temperament, and was very well behaved. Taking a horseback ride like this takes you back to a much simpler time that is both relaxing and exhilarating; quite a rare combination! Sky was able to fit me in without a reservation, since I had not known about the place in advance, and was very accommodating on short notice. Be sure to reserve in summer though! After having such a great experience, I plan to return to take a ride into a simpler time on each visit to McCall for camping!

Ya-Hoo is such a fun place and so great for a family or friends or individual ride. The owner is a…read moretrue blue cowgirl and everyone that works there, too! The horses are sweethearts and good for any level of rider (we had all in our group). Def recommend and great addition to fun things to do in Long Valley.

Hells Canyon is what you make of it. If you imagine it to be a gateway to hell, then that is…read moreexactly what it will be: grueling trails through rugged country, hostile heat and cold, intrusive plants and animals (poison ivy, ticks, rattlesnakes), and endlessly long and steep days followed by eternally long nights. If you approach it differently, with an open mind and an expansive heart, then Hells Canyon will be like the Iceland of the American West: beauty instead of brutality; green fields, verdant wildflowers, snow-topped ridges, and cascading mountain streams. Birds will sing and winds will blow; stars will shine brightly at night and you will stare in perpetual awe at one of America's most pristine wilderness areas. But the greater truth is that BOTH of these places exist - the Hells Canyon of nightmares, and the Hells Canyon of dreams. You simply have to find a way during your visit here to reconcile these opposing visions into an integrated whole. If you can do that - the beauty and and the beast coexisting happily together - then you will emerge from Hells Canyon a transformed person with a deeper sense of self and an enhanced appreciation for the diversity of the wider world in an appropriately sized package (750,000 acres, for starters). And if you can survive the ordeal, you will exit the canyon happier, heartier, and healthier than when you left - like Orpheus in the Underworld, except that in this particular case, you won't feel the need to look back. That, in essence, is what Hells Canyon means to me. And to you, if you are ready for the experience. May is the best of all possible months for visiting the canyon by foot or mule: you'll likely enter using Freezeout Trailhead (30 miles on asphalt and gravel roads from Joseph, OR), or Dug Bar, a long high-clearance road to the North (downstream). Bear in mind that the Idaho side of the canyon - the Seven Devils Wilderness - is still deep in melting snow, and is not accessible until the summer, so you'll need to enter from the Oregon side if you want to see the wildflowers and the impossibly green meadows that carpet the canyon in springtime. Plan for 3-5 days, choose the High Trail (#1751) as your main route, and don't descend to the Snake River unless you are prepared for thorns, poison ivy, and brush. Sluice Creek and Saddle Creek make good access points if you choose this path (Temperance Creek does not). If you are a first-time visitor, I'd recommend staying on the High Trail the whole time. Head up, down, and then North until you are tired, find a campsite, then return back over Freezeout Saddle when you have had your fill of what the canyon has to offer. The climb over Freezeout Saddle is epic: steep, switchbacked, with expansive views of the Seven Devils and of the distant Eagle Cap wilderness to the West. On a clear day, with lupines, Indian paintbrush, and arrowleaf balsamroot blooming, this is the most beautiful place you ever will see - as untouched and unvarnished a natural landscape as you are likely to find in the continental U.S. This is hard country. You need to be prepared. That "hell" part isn't a joke. But it's also America's grandest and most incredible canyon, end of story. If you are able to come, and it takes time, effort, and luck, then just do it! You'll emerge a different person than when you started, and that's something to treasure for years and decades to come.

Take in the valley and rest your head at this cozy spot. It's quite the storybook "farm" setting…read more Lyndall (and Ray) are the warmest of hosts. The conversation is delightful and breakfast was fantastic (eggs, sausage, cinnamon roll in toast form and fruit). You'll find the house clean and comfortable. Horses, 2 dogs and 2 cats only add to the charm. Find comic relief in the form of a fanciful feathered rooster! I would definitely like to stay here again the next time I'm in the area.

Lyndall, the owner of Willow Creek Horse Bed & Breakfast is simply wonderful. She cooks up a mean…read morebreakfast, she is positively charming. She knows a lot about the area and even called a nearby tourist attraction to make sure we could get in. She has horses, dogs, cats, chickens. When you stay at Willow Creek Horse Bed & Breakfast you feel like you've got away from the hustle and bustle of normal life. We stayed there while visiting our daughter who attends EOU in La Grande. It was only a 15 minute drive away from the campus. I intend to make Lyndall's place our home away from home while visiting our daughter each time we go to La Grande. My husband says, he wishes we had a horse to bring, so we could have enjoyed some trail riding. One side note, the stairs up to the bedrooms are steep, so if you have bad knees, this may be a challenge. Otherwise, check it out, you'll thoroughly enjoy your stay. www.willowcreekhorsebnb.com

In January of 2020, we booked a horseback ride to the Minam River Lodge for this past June. We…read morecommunicated with Eagle Cap before the scheduled trip and they informed us that the trail had some downed trees and snow and was impassable. No problem, we made other arrangements to fly to the River Lodge instead. Eagle Cap collected a $400 deposit in January for my family's trail rides to and from the lodge. They have not refunded me my deposit. I followed up many times, they said that they would provide me the refund when they had the money. They have stopped responding to my emails and I never received the refund. Eagle Cap is not trustworthy. Don't give them a deposit!

My buddy and I were fortunate enough to draw our spring bear tags for 2019. Having put a few years…read moreon ourselves since our last bear pursuit, we didn't wish to pack our own gear and camp into the Eagle Cap Wilderness on our backs again. I contacted Wes & Molly at Eagle Cap Wilderness Outfitters and they put a customized pack in/pack out package together for us. Due to the late winter and excessive snow amounts that accumulated in March, we were forced to deviate from our original plan and come up with other options to our preferred site. Molly didn't miss a beat and came up with a new plan to get us where we wanted to go. The riding stock were excellent and the pack mules did their job getting us in. We ended up filling our bear tags early, so I climbed a high ridge, got a hold of Molly and she was able to come get us two days early. Molly packed our gear, camp and bears out without a hitch. I also wish to say, Molly did a great job of packing up our gear and keeping our rifles safe and ready to go. I would also like to state that due to the late winter/excessive snow, our rides in and out were longer than expected, but Molly didn't miss a beat and got us in and out safely. Being a former outfitter myself, I know the small things that go into being a great outfitter. Eagle Cap Wilderness Outfitters does all those little necessary things and they run an excellent service. I have already told Molly that if we are fortunate enough to draw our spring bear tags for next year, we will want them to take us back in. It was a memorable experience in many ways. Beautiful country, visiting old stomping grounds (harvested my first bear in the area over 20 years ago), and enjoying time with my buddy. Thanks to Eagle Cap Wilderness Outfitters, our time going in and coming out added to those memories......Brett Jantze (May 2019)

This review is for one of the Big Sheep Creek trails accessed by the NF-100 road off Wallowa…read moreMountain Road (Loop). First off, Eagle Cap is a fabulous wilderness area. I love it and after this first time experience, we'll be back. That said, our hiking adventure was shorter than we'd planned because the creeks were still too high to allow all the several crossings necessary to do the several miles in that we wanted. We were too early in the season (late May). But we did get 2.6 miles of hiking in and enjoyed every bit of it. Fantastic scenery. The access road wasn't too bad even in a Toyota Corolla, although we were stopped by snow a few hundred yards short of the trailhead, Not that many critters, though. Highly recommended.

Nestled in the far northeast corner of Oregon lies a magical land of awe-inspiring mountain peaks,…read morealpine lakes filled with jumping trout, beautifully vibrant meadows, and miles upon miles of trails. This place doesn't get the love & press of it's northern neighbor, The Enchantments (Washington's Cascadian alpine wonderland), but I would argue this outdoor area is just as good....or dare I say: better? [[[[bracing myself for tomatoes and trash to be thrown at me]]]] OK, I'm only saying it's "better" because it's in more of a remote area (so less traffic), and you don't need to worry about measuring your luck with a permit lottery (it's probably not needed due to less traffic). So this place is definitely more approachable. The Eagle Cap Wilderness is a huge area (almost 600 square miles). It's still new to me, but in 2015, I had the pleasure of spending two trips up here, one in July & the other in Sept. It is an expansive area, but I would say, obviously enough, that Eagle Cap peak is the hub of the area. From Eagle Cap, you have spokes of mountain ranges and river valleys. There are several approaches to get you from lower elevations to the alpine region around Eagle Cap. For my first experience, we went for a less-traveled approach from the south: Eagle Creek Valley. The solitude here is surely something I daydream about, but I would have to say the 4th of July weekend has some brutally hot weather--especially when hiking uphill. We camped one night in this valley and made it over Horton Pass to a camp up in the alpine area for a couple of nights. While at Horton Pass, I took a side trip up to summit Eagle Cap. The views here were life-changing. MOSQUITO HEAVEN: July in Eagle Cap Wilderness was hot and there were mosquitoes up the ying yang! It as pretty unbearable. I slept in a bivy sack, and I cooked in it as the mosquitoes tried stealing my blood as they peered in at me through the face screen. Sleep was tough. But during the day, it was great to have day hikes around the area, jump in clear & cold lakes and to also wet a fly while pursuing trout. Fall is my preference though. In September we did an approach from the north and hiked up the East Lostine River Valley. Once you get above 5000, there is a long glacial valley which is just about the most beautiful place I've ever seen. Hiking this valley was surreal. The peaceful stream, the beautiful color of the vegetation, and Eagle Cap looking over us the whole time: perfect hiking! There's no mosquitoes at all, but the days are short. The weather is a little chilly, so no chance of taking a dip in the Lostine River. But it was pretty nice. The Lostine River approach is also an easier hike, too. You don't have to hike over a mountain pass. And you can pretty much get up to the alpine area after a few hours of hiking.

Took the beautiful drive up to the dam from Baker City...about 85 miles each way via State Route…read more86. The road gets pretty windy once you hit Copperfield, but the views of Hells Canyon and Snake River are worth it! There are quite a few pull-outs to stop and take pics. We also passed numerous campground and picnic options. We enjoyed driving over the dam and taking pictures from both sides. Such beautiful views! If you follow the road to the end, passed the dam about 0.5 mile, you come across the visitors center. It was closed when we arrived, but we did enjoy watching the rafters and kayakers from the back deck. Would highly recommend a visit!

Hells Canyon Dam sits at the end of the road. Literally. It's the last of a series of dams that pen…read moreup the Snake River as it rolls along a steep, deep crevasse that separates Oregon and Idaho. To access the dam, you pick up Hells Canyon Road at Copperfield (if coming from the Oregon side) and snake your way up along the Hells Canyon Reservoir for about half an hour. It's a scenic drive that offers plenty of places to pull off and swim, and quite a few trailheads for hikes up into the Idaho side of the canyon. The route takes you along the base of some very steep cliffs and overhangs, and you can tell by the dents in the blacktop that there are often rockfalls along here. My wife was white-knuckling it during most of the ride out. The dam itself is nothing too spectacular, but it does sit in a very scenic spot on the river. Once you cross the dam, the road ends in a boat launch, and this is where the adventure begins. Here you can put in for kayaking, rafting and drift-boat floats down the canyon. Fishing abounds. The dam itself has a little visitor's center with historical photographs and a couple of Idaho Power employees who can answer questions. We were able to get some good info on road quality for our forthcoming drive up the forest service roads into the Wallowas. Super helpful! If you're not floating or fishing or otherwise using the recreation side of the river, there's not a whole lot to do here other than learn about the dam and take in some pretty scenic views from the canyon floor. It's almost more about the views on the drive in. And you'll be seeing them again on the drive out, as there's nowhere to go from here but back the way you came.