This hike happened by happenstance…read more A friend and I were supposed to go up to Horseshoe Prairie (http://www.yelp.com/biz/horseshoe-prairie-nordic-ski-area-pendleton) for snowshoeing, but unfortunately, I let my friend drive and he was a little too confident about his car's snowy-road-handling ability. After spinning tires a time or two, we canned our fun-in-the-snow plans, turned around, and slid down the hill to civilization. While picking up chocolates at Petite Noirs (http://www.yelp.com/biz/petits-noirs-milton-freewater), the owner mentioned a nearby hike. To not make the day a total loss, we were all ears, and went for it. Just off of main street in Milton Freewater, you take the turn off for Harris Park (as you're driving south out of town, it'll be the left BEFORE you take the hill up and out of town). You then drive about 10 miles up a canyon carved by the South Fork of the Walla Walla River. This canyon is part of the Blue Mountains, and it's amazing to see how quickly the landscape changes from the drabby flatness of Milton-Freewater to the alpine-y beauty of the Blues & Walla Walla river. Once you're in the area of the park, keep going until you approach the trailhead for the South Fork Walla Walla River trail. Here there are quite a few parking spots, a couple of restrooms and river bubbles within earshot. You are clearly outside of civilization and within an honest to goodness country landscape. The deep valley is beautiful and the trail looks inviting. For the most part the trail parallels the river. Sometimes it sidetracks and goes up the side of the valley wall, but the river is always within view. The trail is well-kept and nice (other than a few boggy/muddy spots). We went for about 2.5 miles on the trail before calling it a day. We enjoyed sightings of elk at one spot (we later saw herds of deer, turkey, and even a scooting coyote during our dusk drive out). I'm so glad I made it here. I can definitely see myself coming back to dip myself within the magic waters (à la Field of Dreams) and fly fishing the stream (à la A River Runs Through It). I've also heard that you can ride your mountain bike here too---I'd also be down for that! South Fork of the Walla Walla Trail. I will see you again---very, very soon.

This was a great hike with my dog. Very turn their was a beautiful view of the Walla walla River…read more Trail was in decent condition. Plenty of parking at the trailhead.

These trails aren't just for winter sports. I've made it here during the summer to take my…read moremountain bike for a ride. I parked at the Sno-Park Parking lot where one would go during the winter months. Here you have a couple of dirt roads to choose from for off-road options. I decided to do some climbing and went for NFD Rd 64--to get to this road from the parking lot, ride your bike further up the valley a few hundred yards (their's a trail), and then take right. This road is fairly nice. There are lots of rock on it, but no potholes. It is a fairly uphill jaunt from the get-go. As I was approaching the top of the valley, I eyed a side road. The sign on it said (6400 500), so I don't know which is the name of the road, but I decided to take it, because it looked tiny and way less traveled (in fact it was closed to motorized vehicles). Nice. Yeah, this trail ended up being the high-point of the day. It wasn't single track, but it was close. I must admit I had the willies when I saw a half-eaten deer leg within the first minute of climbing (the rest of the ride I kept thinking of the cougar, bear, or zombie which was eyeing me from the bushes as I rode by). I love to climb. I love burning my quads like Hades. It felt good to be riding. Unfortunately, this side road only lasted a little bit before I made it up to the top of the ridge/mountain. Here this trail ties back up with one of the major dirt roads again. There are some decent views here. I then took the little road downhill. Man, I'm must be a total old fogie, because wow---I think I rode the breaks the entire way down! The road was steep, and I hit some high speeds within seconds. There were also rocks to watch out for as well. In other words, I rode it like an old person (which I am I suppose). But it was fun. It's the kind of fun, where you just have to yell with abandon (I think I did a few times--with a smile). These trails are definitely good for snow activities, and I'd say they are decent for bike riding. I don't know if I'd come here to do some straight-up hiking though. I'd save the Cascades for that. NOTE: Be careful on this road in the winter. This is the infamous scene of where my truck and my crew rolled down a mountain just over a year ago!

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.

Stopped here to stretch our legs after a drive from La Grande…read more Absolutely beautiful lake! Great place for recreation. Nice long dock for boating. There are long concrete steps down to the rocky shore. Bathroom facilities and garbages available as well. Would highly recommend for the views alone!

Beautiful lake anytime of the year!!! Great fishing and boating. Family fun! Or solo adventures!!read more

It was so beautiful! Very premium, dogs are allowed. There was deer everywhere, so many things to…read moredo here! I Highly recommend

This park is small with short trails leading to the lake. Good spot for a picnic. There are tables…read morenear the water but there isn't a ton of room near the shore line. Dogs are allowed. There are pretty views around the lake but the park isn't awesome overall.

Ok, ok, I didn't really hike this trail, and I reckon I won't be able to until next June (it will…read morebe snowed in till then), but we tried to hike it, darn it!! Yes, for a first date, I chose a hike. Unfortunately, there were a few issues (which weren't the trail's fault): 1) Getting to the trail head is a bit of a drive. Yes, it takes about 1hr (from Tri-Cities) to get to the first dirt road, but after that, you have something like another hour of dirt road driving. 2) We picked a day with questionable weather. As we were approaching the Blues (i.e. The Blue Mountains), we were accompanied by some dark ominous clouds. So yeah, for much of the dirt road driving, we had some precipitation. 3) It was hard to find the trailhead. The place I loaded on my gps was a wrong location. Lucky, we ran into some campers/hunters, and they were able to sorta point us in the right direction. For the record, I'm pretty sure the have the correct location on this Yelp page. So, the place goes by several names: Mt. Misery Trailhead, Teepee Campground, Oregon Butte Trail, etc. I think they are all here. We originally came here in search of the Oregon Butte, and the Fire Lookout on top of the Butte. But as I said, the weather was dreary, we drove a ways...and it was a first date!! I didn't want to get us further lost, all muddy, and I really didn't want to my date to think I was a total outdoors loser...which I can be sometimes, as many can attest. At any rate, the forest of the Blues is far different from the Cascades. You don't have huge mountains & great views. The terrain here is frankly boring, but I do have to say at this trailhead the scenery looked nice. There was a nice big valley that we overlooked, and the thought of a Fire Lookout also sounded cool. Well, all of this work was recon for our next "real" attempt. The drive out here is interesting. During the drive we came across several springs (they had troughs at them, for horses I reckon). At the Trailhead, there is a Northwest Forest Pass requirement ($5). This hike is recommended from June - Oct.

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.

After a long dusty ride descending 2500 feet in elevation along 8 miles of rocky terrain, steep…read moreforrest ridges and winding streams, we arrived at the Minam Lodge in time for lunch. We unsaddled the horses and let them out to graze, while we enjoyed a refreshing drink. I had an old fashioned any my friends had gin & tonics. We were served a delicious bison chili with polenta and radish microgreens. I also had a lovely glass of Pinot, and a sourdough chocolate chip cookie. What a fun experience, breathtaking views and friendly staff. Planning our next trip already!

This place was incredible. Well worth the 8.5 mile hike in. We got the last room in the lodge,…read moreshared a shower/ toilet down the hall but didn't mind. Mathew made THE BEST drinks. Shawn's food was literally some of the best meals of my life. Loved the communal dining and other people we met. This place is such a gem.

We've been camping here at Emigrant Springs State Park for a couple year's now and have always…read moreenjoyed our time here. Always in the cabins. The cabins have a cozy vibe but they are pretty standard cabins. I heard they are about to take out all the mini fridges inside the cabins along with the gas oven / 3 burner stove top on the deck. That feature has been a staple for us. Not bringing our big @$$ cook stove was awesome but no more. That's fine. We'll be bringing our big @$$ stove.

Stayed a few nights in a tent. Nice park - lots of spots, a nice bathroom facility, and a cool…read morecommunity center building. Also trails and some cabins, including what I heard was an original Oregon Trail-era duplex cabin. However, it's right next to I-84 and is super loud, so I wouldn't stay here again for that reason.