Wednesday, June 21, 2023
During my visit to northeast Oregon I hiked part of the Eureka Wagon Road hike.
This hike follows the route of the old Eureka Wagon Road, which was built in 1902 to access the mines at Eureka Bar far below along the Snake River. The road is now a trail, and although you can follow it all the way down to the river, most people don’t go that far.
Before starting the hike I visited the Buckhorn Overlook, which has a great view into the canyon of the Imnaha River:
There’s also an old abandoned fire lookout here:
From the overlook Road 780 heads downhill to the trailhead. It’s in rough shape:
The Subaru could have made it, but I was in the mood to walk, so I parked the car and started walking:
This actually turned out to be a very pleasant road walk with lots of wildflowers:
Just before the trailhead is a rutted mud puddle that I would not have wanted to drive through:
There’s no sign here, but this is the trailhead parking area:
Just around the corner from that parking area is a gate:
The old road continues beyond the gate with more views and more wildflowers:
Soon I reached an old road junction. My route lay straight ahead:
More wildflowers:
I was glad this wasn’t a hot day, because this is very exposed with no shade:
This is open rangeland, unfortunately, and there is plenty of evidence of cows here, including cowpies:
And well-trampled cow paths:
The views into the Imnaha were great:
Having gotten my fill of wildflowers and views I turned around here:
Heading back:
Back at the old road junction I decided to right right and explored down that way for a bit:
An old road forks to the left and the Cemetery Ridge Trail follows another old road, forking uphill to the right:
I took the left fork and followed it for a bit:
Then I turned around and headed back to the car. This turned out to be a lovely stroll with lots of wildflowers. Hopefully next time I can go further!
Gaia stats: 4.8 miles, 400′ elevation loss (gain on the way back)
