6/20/19. Eastern Oregon- Baker City by Sandy

We spent 10 days in the Baker City area at 2 different campgrounds. One in a pine forest and one just off the highway with breezes that smelled like honeysuckle. Loved the fragrant sites. 

We did a lot of exploring of the many small towns nearby and 2 different scenic byways. Here are my recommendations

1. The Blue Mountains which encompasses this area is all beautiful. The Hells Canyon Scenic Byway is worth doing a second time. We first took the southern winding route to see the Oxbow and Hells Canyon dams along the Snake River and into Idaho. Then another day we took the northern route on the Byway via La Grande from I-84 into Enterprise and the town of Joseph. La Grande is the town for Eastern Oregon University so bigger than Baker City. Several tiny towns later, Enterprise has a hospital and county type services and a chain grocery store. Joseph, with Wallowa Lake at the foot of the mountains, is the touristy town with a quaint Main Street filled with unique gift and speciality stores, including bronze sculptures on every street corner through town. Tons of cabins are nearby along with a tram that leads to a mountaintop we did not take the time to do. But beware, barrels of agent orange were found at the bottom of the crystal clear lake in town (which is their drinking water source) last year so watch your water usage while there.  We spotted the environmental team’s trucks in the state park’s parking lot still working on the problem. Also, if you visit, start working on pronunciation of this lake and the surrounding Wallowa Mountains. (It’s wa-la-wah)

1. The Elkhorn Scenic Byway, named for the Elkhorn Mountains, has a ski resort recreation area with hiking trails. By going the southern route from Baker City you’ll pass the Gold Dredge, but then it’s all pine forest. We gave up on this destination, but approaching the route counterclockwise from Haines, which is north of Baker City, should get you to Anthony Lakes faster and we heard is more scenic.

1. The Oregon Trail interpretative Center is a great place to explore. Their displays were very well done. Learned more than any history class ever taught me. And they have 4 miles of trails nearby to hike.

1. This area has lots of off road vehicle routes, so bring one if you have one. We did not see any place to rent them. Kayak and canoe rentals would be a wide open business to start in the area.  White water rafting or jet boat yours can be done on the Snake River in Idaho if the water is warm enough.

1. Next time, I’d stay in the La Grande area or Haines rather than Baker City, to be closer to more hiking options. Baker City, Haines, and La Grande are all in the valley between the Elkhorn and Wallowa mountains, so any town is very scenic.