Great sledding (and skiing). Nice, safe, treeless bowl area where snomobiles are prohibited. Quiet,…read morepeaceful, and a smooth sledding experience. Trails are maked well, but there is no signage indicating where the sledding is. Use a little common sense -- you can see a treeless ridge fromthe parking lot, with a wide trail leading to it, just across the parking lot from an outhouse. If you use the trail immediately adjacent to the other outhouse, you are heading onto ski paths. TIP: you will need to buy a snow parkin pass for the snow season. Yiuc an buy before you head up the mountain, or, stop at the general store just outside the park.

GREAT SLEDDING HILL! One side is really steep for the dare devils and risk takers while the other…read moreside is much easier for the little kiddos..though walking back up the hill on either side can be quite arduous! We did both...alternating of course to rest up for the insane climb to the top of king hill. We come all the way from Portland every year to do this with our friends from Athena...it really is a treat for the young and old...though tomorrow morning, I'll know just exactly how old I am!

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.

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!

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.

My group used Boggan's Shuttle Service for a Grand Ronde river trip. They shuttled two vehicles and…read morewere very honest and reliable. I highly recommended them!

Welcoming and friendly staff... look at our breakfast view!!! Food was magical pancakes hit the…read morespot after a morning walk!

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.

Why is it hard to exercise sometimes?? With the gym, the hardest thing is getting there, but once…read moreyou're there and then finish, you feel heaps better. On Sunday, I went for my first mountain bike ride of the season. I had to put the rack on the car, then I had to drive 70-miles to the trail I had in mind, I had to drive past my favorite bar, and also ignore seeing a movie at the Liberty Theater. So, many things were pulling me away from riding....I was so close to bailing, but I didn't. While going for a ride in the Blue Mountains last season, I passed a dirt road which looked totally enticing: dirt, went up, up, up, and was not very far outside of Dayton. A mental I.O.U. was made. It was time to pay up. First off: the weather was EXQUISITE!! It's amazing how much great weather can elevate the soul. The blues, the greens were so vibrant & pulling--they were orgasmic. I couldn't get my bike off the roof and on to it fast enough. I was off. From the words of Chuck D: "Here it is: BAM! And I say God d*mn! This is a dope jam!" This road hits ya from the gates. It goes vertical within feet (I was sweating within seconds). It was tough, my quads were screaming from the get-go. I was in heaven. The views hit you amazing-fast. You can look down on the Touchet River as it cuts through the valley below. You could start seeing the snow-capped Blue Mountains in the background. Now this part of the country is interesting. You're sort of in between two major environments: rolling & treeless palouse hills and a coniferous pine forest. I actually kind of liked not having many trees around--it affords one huge open views. The views WERE amazing! I didn't get to view 'em too much however, cuz my butt was busy in the saddle biking upward. I still stole views. The road is dirt, but there is also gravel (I assume for erosion protection). I tried to avoid the gravel as much as I could **envisioned biting it on these pointy little rocks**. Most of the time, it looks like the road is flanked by farmland/fields, but I couldn't see anything growing--it was mainly green green grass. I should point out, that it seemed like beer cans served as quarter-mile markers....ahhhh, ya gotta love the rednecks. It took me about an hour to climb up to the top of the valley (about a 1300ft climb and 2.5 miles). As I was thinking of turning around, I heard water streaming and an old decrepit farmhouse peaked at me from the pines in the distance (the pine trees start to appear at the top of the hill). This structure was trippy. Ok, sorry to go Star Wars nerd here, but I couldn't help think of a Sand Crawler. I kept thinking envisioning a glowing-eyed Jawa running around and trying to capture my robotic ass! I spent a good 10 minutes at this old barn/silo (great photo ops here for sure). Then it was back to business. Time for a lightning fast descent. I'm an old timer. Back in the day, I would have barreled down the hill with reckless abandon, but my old age and wisdom makes me wane on speed....a little. I made it down in 10 minutes! So amazing. I felt 17 again (sort of). This was a GREAT ride, and I can't wait to come back. It really does pay to ignore the distractions which try to keep you from exercise. Really, it does!

This is a relatively short, easy hike. It can be tricky to find and easy to miss so make sure you…read morefollow the directions on the website. There are a couple of small signs at the trail head. The hike itself is a little overgrown at certain points but nothing you can't get through. I wouldn't bring young children here though. Watch out for the stinging nettles! My boyfriend and I made the mistake of wearing shorts and we kept getting stung. My legs still ache a little. The bottom of the hike is pretty bushy and shady but the top leads to a nice hill with wild flowers, views of the wheat fields, and a great vantage point to view the surrounding area. We didn't see any wildlife besides a few birds (which were chirping beautifully throughout the hike). If you're looking for a simple place to go and relax, you should give it a try! It's now maintained by the Palouse Clearwater Environmental Institute--remember to keep it clean! There's a cute little guest book about 10-15 minutes into the trail where the actual PCEI sign is.

This place is a birding Mecca in the spring. I counted 21 species in an hour and still had a few…read morecalls I could not recognize. Well maintained trails. Quiet venue except for oodles of singing birds! Leashed pups only, please, for good reason.

Stunning views for minimal effort. Be warned, depending on the conditions it may be necessary to…read morenavigate fallen trees, but nothing too extreme. Road conditions coming up were relatively well maintained with some tighter areas due to fallen tree debris. For reference, there was an old Prius at the trailhead parking. The drive up also offers its own breathtaking views. Well worth visiting and stopping at each of the upper/middle/lower falls outlooks.

We took family and friends up to the falls during a historically rainy spring/summer and it was…read moreamazing! While the water was till very muddy from runoff, the volume was very exciting and powerful. Trails are pretty well maintained, but there are a few spots where nature took its course. (people taking shortcuts doesn't help). We only had time to see the upper and middle falls, but plan on going back to see the lower falls this month. The history of the wagon road was really cool - you could almost envision the wagons on the first part of the trail. Boy, life is so much easier now! All in all, very well worth it!