Eastern Oregon

Eastern Oregon is the state's big open country: the Wallowa Mountains, Hells Canyon, the John Day Fossil Beds, Steens Mountain and old Oregon Trail towns, all far from the crowds.

Eastern Oregon covers everything east of the Cascades outside Central Oregon, from the Columbia River on the Washington border south to Nevada and east to the Idaho line along the Snake River. It is sparsely populated, with wide sagebrush country, mountain ranges and distances that reward a long road trip. In the northeast, the Wallowa Mountains, sometimes called the Alps of Oregon, rise above Wallowa Lake near Joseph and Enterprise, where the Wallowa Lake Tramway climbs toward the Eagle Cap Wilderness. Hells Canyon, carved by the Snake River along the Idaho border, is one of the deepest river gorges in North America. Pendleton is known for the Pendleton Round-Up rodeo in September, its woolen mill and the Pendleton Underground Tours. Baker City has a preserved historic downtown, and the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center on Flagstaff Hill shows the pioneer route. Farther west, the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument protects colorful badlands, including the Painted Hills. In the southeast, Steens Mountain and the Alvord Desert are remote landscapes with wildflowers, hot springs and dry lake beds, and Malheur National Wildlife Refuge attracts migrating birds in spring. Summer is warm and dry, while spring and fall are milder. Interstate 84 runs through the north, with US-26, US-20 and US-395 crossing the rest, and a car is essential because towns and services are far apart.