On Thursday of our journey through three byways in Oregon, we started the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway. However, it is a long byway so we did not finish it. We drove through the Hells Canyon area and ended up just past Joseph in the town of Enterprise. Today, Friday, we would finish the byway and begin to make our journey back home.
In looking over the guide for Hells Canyon Scenic Byway, I realized we had missed an important stop, Wallowa Lake. Wallowa Lake is just a few miles outside of the town of Joseph. Since we were not that far from Joseph, we decided to head back and check out the lake.
After driving through Joseph we planned to drive the six miles to the Oregon state park that was on the lake. However, we came to a county park not far from town and stopped there instead. This park seemed particularly oriented towards boaters and fishing as there were a lot of parking spaces for boat trailers. However there was a small beach area, and some families were there enjoying the water. We didn’t see a lot of boats out on the lake although there were a few. It was a hot day so those who went fishing may have gotten an early start.
One of the things that makes Wallowa Lake such a beautiful location are the mountains that tower over it. I have said that a lake by itself is not very interesting. It’s what’s around it that makes it beautiful, and this setting certainly makes that point.
We did not continue on to the state park as we didn’t want to leave too late. However, I would note that apparently near Wallowa Lake is a tramway that takes visitors to the top of one of the nearby mountains. At the top there are various hiking opportunities as well as a restaurant. The 2024 price is between $44-$50 for a day pass. Since we had taken the gondola at Whistler just this last fall, we didn’t feel a need to take this experience, but reports are that the views are tremendous.
I commented in last week’s post that we liked the town of Joseph. I would think that staying in Joseph or camping at Wallowa Lake would be a great family vacation spot. Families have lots of activities to choose from with the amenities of the town of Joseph close at hand. Of course the challenge is getting there. From Portland it’s about a five hour drive so it’s not an easy place to visit. It’s actually closer from Boise, Idaho.
After passing back through Joseph, we continued on our way to finish the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway. In truth there is not a lot to do on the rest of the byway. There are a few small towns along the way, but none with the distinction of Joseph.
The first town we stopped at was Wallowa. The town has a small public park on the main drag with a restroom. The town has definitely seen better days. There are a number of old buildings around with interesting architecture, but they were all somewhat dilapidated. Toward the end of town were two church buildings. One looked quite rundown and unused. The other seemed to be in use, but there was no church name anywhere so I think it is being used for other purposes.
From Wallowa the highway follows the Wallowa River for some distance. Eventually the road climbs over another mountain region. From there I stopped to look down on the river and take some photos of the area. The landscape here is sort of mixed with some brown grass areas dotted with sections of trees.
After we summited the mountain, we came down into another valley that seemed to have a lot of agricultural activity. I had not realized how much agriculture was going on in this part of Oregon, but agriculture appears to be an important economic driver here.
After we came down the mountain, the next town we stopped at was Elgin. Elgin is known for two things. The first is its train. Much like the train in Sumpter, this train offers rides on the weekend into the nearby canyons. It would have been a fun experience to take the Eagle Cap Excursion Train. However, we were there on a Friday so no train trips were available. We were able to walk around the train depot and see the trains.
The other main point of interest in Elgin is the old Opera House. It seems odd that such a small town would have an Opera House, but it did. It was used for a variety of entertainment besides opera. The city later repurposed it to be the City Hall. We never went into the building. The town has some other interesting buildings as well including a large silo near the train depot..
The ending point on the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway is the town of La Grande. This is a much larger city as it is the location of Eastern Oregon University. I had never been to the city before so we went to the downtown historic area and just walked around.
Much like the other towns we had visited, we saw a variety of architectural styles with some buildings going back to the late 1800s while others were newer. This area didn’t seem particularly busy. As in many towns, it is the newer outlying areas that have the most business. We had stopped at a Walmart as we came into town. The parking lot was full, and the store was busy. Sadly that is often the trend for small cities and towns.
Having completed the three byways, we began to move in the direction of home. We had decided to go to Pendleton as Silvette wanted to check out the Pendleton Wool factory. Earlier when we stopped at Starbucks, the barista asked me where we were going. He then suggested we take a back road, which was the old highway to Pendleton before I-84 came along. I had to get on I-84 first, but then found the exit to the old highway. The drive was quite peaceful. We were actually driving near the railroad tracks, and a train was going in the same direction. I was going faster.
Unfortunately the highway ended, and I ended up back on I-84. Just as we came down into the valley where Pendleton lies, there was a viewpoint. Unfortunately it was a hazy day so visibility and photos were not very good. This area of Oregon is very flat and brown. More like what I had thought most of the area would be like.
We finally got to Pendleton and found the Pendleton Mill. They have a nice store there. One can buy items on sale as well as some seconds at a discounted price. We managed to spend some money there.
The day had become quite hot. The temperature was approaching 90 which is way too hot for us. While we might have enjoyed exploring the town some, instead we retreated to our hotel room. We did go out and walk a few blocks to a nearby hamburger joint. Hal’s Hamburger is apparently a local institution. We ate in a covered area outside which was being misted. Then we retreated again to our cool hotel room for the evening.
Tomorrow we will head towards home, but we won’t make it. This will be a day for taking the long way home.
Has anyone spent any time in Pendleton or La Grande, Oregon? Tell us what we missed. I’d love to hear from you. Share your thoughts in the comment box below and don’t forget to like this post.
Good call on backtracking to see Wallowa Lake to check out the views. I’m surprised at how varied the landscape is in Oregon. I’m such a fan of the architecture of some of these smaller towns.
I was also surprised by the variety of landscape in this corner of Oregon. I thought it would be all dry hillsides so the mountains, especially the snow-capped ones, were quite a surprise. There’s more to explore here than we were able to see in a week. I love taking photos of old buildings. It’s sad to see some that are so neglected, but I can understand the challenge of maintaining them, especially in a small town with minimal economic base.