This 218-mile Oregon loop road circles a canyon deeper than the Grand Canyon

It’s deeper than the Grand Canyon

Northeast Oregon keeps its wildest country behind a 218-mile loop of two-lane road.

The Hells Canyon Scenic Byway circles the Wallowa Mountains, climbing from river bottom to mountaintop and back down to valley floor.

You connect with Interstate 84 at La Grande on one end and Baker City on the other, following a mix of state routes and forest roads through country that feels like it belongs to another century. Give it two days if you can.

One day gets you through, but two lets you stop long enough to understand what you’re looking at.

The Nez Perce called this valley home

You’re driving through land the Nez Perce tribe lived on for centuries.

The town of Joseph carries the name of Chief Joseph, the famous Nez Perce leader whose people spent summers in the Wallowa Valley below.

Pioneers came through in the early 1840s, pushing west toward the Willamette Valley. Gold strikes hit the southern Wallowa Range in the 1860s and pulled another wave of settlers in.

From the top of Mount Howard, you can look out over the same valley where Chief Joseph’s people once camped, and the scale of what they lost starts to sink in.

A gorge that runs nearly 8,000 feet deep

Hells Canyon drops about 7,993 feet from rim to river, making it the deepest river gorge in North America. The Snake River carved it along the Oregon-Idaho border, cutting nearly 2,000 feet deeper than the Grand Canyon.

The canyon stretches about 125 miles end to end, and 40 of those miles run more than a mile deep. Most of it sits beyond the reach of any road, which is exactly why it stays wild and uncrowded.

You earn your views here.

Over 350 wildlife species in 652,000 acres

Congress created the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area in 1975, and it now covers 652,488 acres along the Oregon-Idaho border. Bighorn sheep, elk, black bears, and bald and golden eagles all live here.

The Snake River holds sturgeon, chinook salmon, and steelhead trout.

About one-third of the recreation area is designated wilderness, roughly 215,000 acres where no motors go. If you want to see wildlife without fighting a crowd, this is the kind of place where you actually can.

Stand at 5,400 feet and peer into the abyss

The Hells Canyon Overlook sits at about 5,400 feet along Forest Road 3965.

From the paved pullout, you look straight down into McGraw Creek and across to Idaho’s Seven Devils Mountains. Interpretive displays explain how millions of years of erosion shaped the canyon.

Parking, restrooms, picnic tables, and short trails all sit right there. The whole overlook is wheelchair accessible, so anyone in the car can get out and take it in.

You can’t see the Snake River from this spot, but the depth of the gorge hits you hard enough.

Follow a Wild and Scenic river for 73 miles

The byway briefly tracks the Imnaha River, which carries a Wild and Scenic designation along all 73 of its miles. Chinook salmon and steelhead trout spawn in these waters.

Bull trout live here too, making the Imnaha one of the few rivers in Oregon where you can catch and release that species.

The valley around it is remote and steep, with ridges rising on both sides and open grasslands rolling between them. You won’t see many other cars on this stretch, and the quiet feels deliberate.

A glacier-carved lake called Little Switzerland

About a mile south of Joseph, Wallowa Lake sits at 4,372 feet, framed by tall moraines and mountain peaks. Glaciers carved it, and the water runs deep blue.

People have called this area Oregon’s Little Switzerland for its alpine look, and once you see the peaks reflecting off the surface, you’ll get why.

Wallowa Lake State Park has camping, swimming, boating, and fishing right on the shore. The lake also serves as a gateway to the Eagle Cap Wilderness and the trails that wind into the mountains above.

Ride North America’s steepest gondola to 8,150 feet

The Wallowa Lake Tramway takes you from the lakeshore to the summit of Mount Howard in about 15 minutes. Built in 1970, it climbs 3,700 feet and ranks as the steepest four-person gondola in North America.

At the top, roughly 8,150 feet up, about two and a half miles of groomed trails lead to overlooks where you can see into Oregon, Idaho, and Washington at once. The tramway runs from May through September.

On a clear day, the three-state view alone is worth the ride.

Walk past life-size bronze sculptures in Joseph

The small town of Joseph holds the title of Oregon’s first designated Art and Culture town. Valley Bronze, one of the country’s notable bronze foundries, has operated here since 1982.

You can take a tour and watch each step of the casting process.

A self-guided Art Walk along Main Street passes life-size bronze sculptures of wildlife, Western scenes, and historical figures. Galleries, studios, and shops line the downtown streets.

For a town this small, the concentration of art on every block catches you off guard.

Oregon’s largest wilderness covers 360,000 acres

The Eagle Cap Wilderness spreads across roughly 360,000 acres in the heart of the Wallowa Mountains, making it Oregon’s largest wilderness area.

More than 60 alpine lakes sit inside it, including Legore Lake at 8,950 feet, the highest true lake in the state. About 535 miles of trails thread through granite peaks, glaciated valleys, and alpine meadows.

Black bears, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, elk, and wolves all roam this country. If you hike just a few miles in, you can go an entire day without seeing another person.

Walk a mile of original Oregon Trail wagon ruts

The byway ends near Baker City, where the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center sits on top of Flagstaff Hill. The Bureau of Land Management opened this 500-acre site in 1992.

You can walk along a mile of original wagon ruts that pioneer wagons carved more than 150 years ago.

Inside, life-size exhibits and a replica wagon camp bring the journey west to life, and living history demonstrations run during warmer months.

Baker City itself has a historic downtown with more than 100 buildings from the turn of the century.

Jet boats and Class IV rapids on the Snake River

The Snake River through Hells Canyon gives you whitewater from Class I all the way up to Class IV.

Jet boat tours take you through the canyon at river level, where the walls tower above and ancient petroglyphs line the rock. You can also fish for sturgeon, salmon, and steelhead.

A permit is required to float the Wild and Scenic section from late May through September.

Sandy beaches and rock art along the canyon walls are only visible from the water, so getting on the river is the only way to see them.

Fill your tank before the 80-mile gap between gas stations

The full loop starts and ends along Interstate 84 in northeast Oregon, passing through La Grande, Enterprise, Joseph, Halfway, and Baker City.

Parts of Forest Road 39 are unpaved and close in winter when snow piles up.

Gas stations and services thin out fast on the remote stretches, so fill your tank before you leave town.

Near Baker City, the byway connects with three other scenic routes: the Journey Through Time, Blue Mountain, and Elkhorn Drive. Plan your fuel stops and you’ll have the freedom to stop wherever the view demands it.

Drive the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway in Oregon

You can pick up the byway from either La Grande or Baker City, both right off Interstate 84 in northeast Oregon. From La Grande, take exit 261 and follow Oregon Route 82 east.

From Baker City, take exit 304 and follow Oregon Route 86.

The loop is open year-round, though Forest Road 39 between Joseph and Halfway closes from late November through May. The byway is free to drive, with no entrance fees for the road itself.

Check the official website for current road conditions before you go.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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