5 Things Not to Miss in Southeastern Oregon
Southeastern Oregon is a corner of America that easily gets overlooked by travelers and adventures. However, you would be amiss to think there is nothing out there but sage brush and jack rabbits.
Eastern Oregon has a beauty that grows on you over time. You may not see it at first, but the desert is an amazingly beautiful place. With unique nooks and crannies the desert if full of life if you take the time to look for it.
1. Gerhart Mountain Palisades
We descovered this cool place when Tyler was on a trip flying over the area. He came home and said, we have to check this place out, so we did. The area is open to hiking and horseback riding. The palisades is visually unique due to all of the pinnacles that are scattered throughout the area. It’s really fun to hike around and climb all over these cool rock formations.
2. Hart Mountain
Just outside the tiny town of Plush Oregon lies Hart Mountain. Though not your typical “mountain.” Hart Mountain is more like a giant table rather than a peak. Hart Mountain is a National Antelope Refuge and home to various kinds of wildlife. It’s a rare day that you don’t see antelope on the horizon, or in a herd right in front of you! Along with antelope, there are big horn sheep, badger, deer, snakes, and many other kinds of wildlife. Hart Mountain is also well known for the different kinds of birds that live and migrate through the area. This is a birders paradise!
What to do
There are numerous roads and trails for hiking, mt. biking, running, or motorcycle riding all over the mountain. As well as several different canyons you can hike up (from the bottom) to escape the sun. If you are in the area on cool day there are hot springs at the campground on top to warm you up. Fall at Hart Mountain is incredible! The Aspen trees in the draws and canyons are magnificent with their orange and yellow leaves!
3. Steens
The Steens Mountain is located East of Hart Mountain and rise at it’s base from the floor of the Alford Desert. The summit of the mountain sits at 9,733 feet. People often confuse it as a mountain range, but it is a single mountain. The mountain can be accessed by a 52 mile loop road, that has incredible viewpoints of the Kiger Gorge. There are tons of activities to do like, hiking, biking, camping, visiting hot springs, and sightseeing. If you are the running sort, there is Steens Mountain High Altitude Running Camp each summer that draws people from all over.
4. Alvord Desert
The Alvord Desert is a huge dry lake bed on the Eastern side of the Steens Mountains. The area is massive! You have to travel down a dirt road for several miles before getting to the desert, but it is well worth the drive! There are only a few places to access the lake bed, but once you are out there you are free to explore all over. You can drive, ride bikes, scooter, run, or just hang out for the day. We took our camper and camped a few miles out on the lake bed and had an amazing time! What a unique and super cool place! There are also hot springs that you can pay for along the Western side of the lake bed.
5. Crack in the Ground
Outside of the tiny town of Christmas Valley is a place called “Crack in the Ground.” We didn’t know much about this place before we stopped there as we were passing through. First of all you would never know this place exists unless you were seeking it out. Now that we have been there we can say that you should totally seek it out! Crack in the Ground is a volcanic fissure, or quite literally a crack in the ground. This fissure is about 2.5 miles long and is very much like a slot canyon made of lava rock. There is a trail in the bottom of the crack and you can explore and hike through it. There are places where the walls are 30 feet tall! This is a super fun hike for the whole family!
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Thank you SO much for your kind words!!!! This is a labor of love for sure!