A friend and I are traveling from Portland, Or to the Steens Mountains in S.E. Oregon. We'll likely travel down through central Oregon, go through the John Day Fossil area along the way. This trip will be primarily for photography. I'll take my 4x5 and he'll take a Koni-Omega outfit.
What are good scenic and architectural sites to photograph on a trip like this? We're also interested in ghost towns.
We haven't yet decided on a return route? Any ideas would be appreciated.
Farther west, and north of Lakeview, is the Abert Rim, IIRC the rim of Abert Lake. It is a wall of cliffs and the weather conditions [when i went by in a long ago June] produce a crown of clouds
That area is pure magic, but it's big country with a lot of distance between points.
You could easily spend a week just in the vicinity of Steens Mtn. It's an unusual mtn
in the sense you drive up but hike down. Fascinating desert to the south, almost like
a miniature of Death Valley, but aspen groves and snowfileds up on the rim, with deep
glacier-carved side canyons through colorful metamorphic rock. Lk Abert is very photogenic too. No facilities around except the city of Burns (if you ever get there -
the John Day country might trap you a whole week too!).
Had a great time. Here are some of the highlights.
There aren't that many campgrounds in the Steens Mountain area, and they all tend to be Bureau of Land Management. Some don't have any kind of bathroom facilities. We stayed at one just a few miles S.E. of French Glen. Very nicely kept up. Drive a few miles on the Steens Mountain Loop that departs from Frenchglen, and it's on the right. (Can't remember the name.) It had outhouses, water, grassed campsites, picnic tables, and campfire pits. $8 per night. Another notable campground was the South Steens Campground. It's equestrian.
If you have five hours or more, take the Steens Mountain Loop. (It's all gravel, but passable by most vehicles, if it's dry. Not sure if it's not dry.) It goes up along the top of the Steens Mountain, and then winds down from the mountain south of Frenchglen. (Note that the "Steens Mountain" is 30 miles or more long. They call it a single mountain, but it consists of a number of peaks, etc.) Very impressive with some breathtaking views. Some views have their own access that might be a mile or less. They are worth taking. One in particular was the Kiber Gorge view point. Quite incredible. It's also worth seeing the Steens Mountain Summit. What really struck me is that, as BLM land, much of the land in and around the Steens Mountain is uninhabited. You can drive 50 miles and not see a single house.
Frenchglen itself has a few houses, a store, and a hotel. The hotel is decent with family style dining. Prices were $70 per night with shared bath, $100 per night with a private bath. Dinners were an additional $22 per night and breakfasts were $8 as I recall. The gas station in Frenchglen was $4.50 per gallon of regular, cash only. Fill up in Burns if you can. The store didn't have much in the way of groceries, and no fresh produce or fresh meat.
After spending two nights in the Steens Mountain area, we traveled to Jorden Valley, Or. that's close to the Idaho border and drove north on Highway 95 to Succor Creek Rd. We took this slow-going gravel road to the Succor Creek Recreation Area and state park. This was also a beautiful area with excellent photographic possibilities. They have some amazing rock formations in the Recreation Area. We drove in from the south which has some great views. After leaving the Recreation Area and state park, Succor Creek Road continues north and eventually connects with Highway 201. Access from the north to the Succor Creek State Park is easier, but without as many views as driving in from the south from Highway 95.
John Day National Monument is divided into three areas, the Sheep Rock Unit, Painted Hills, and Clarno. They aren't adjacent to one another so if your time is limited I'd suggest the Painted Hills which I think is the most interesting from a photography standpoint. The town of Mitchell is just a few miles past the entrance to Painted Hills. It's not a ghost town but it's a really funky little place and if you like old, weird buildings you'll like the block or two that comprise its main street.
If you'll be in French Glen and have the time you could drive to the Alvord Desert (the route may be circuitous, I don't think there's a direct connection between French Glen and Fields, which is the town - using the word loosely - where I stayed when I photographed the Alvord Desert). But that's another interesting area for photography. Or you could take a 40 mile dirt road from French Glen to the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge. As far as the Steens themselves, I've only done the loop that Neil mentioned and its definitely worthwhile but you don't say when you'll be going and portions of the loop are probably closed or will be closing pretty soon because of snow.
Photograph America has three Oregon guides that I think you'd find useful. One is "Oregon Back Roads," another is "Deserts of Eastern Oregon," and the third is "Waterfalls of Oregon." They only cost about $8 each and can be downloaded online.
Brian Ellis
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
a mile away and you'll have their shoes.
I did some of this trip when I was a student at the U of Zero and have always wanted to go back, it is wonderful photo country and I'd really like to see with my experience now.
Hmm... I already feel sorry for the rental car company in Portland when I return the vehicle....
My nephew sometimes leads trips up Steens for geology grad students. It is a remarkable place, and was very important to the Nez Perce, who held big annual
gatherings there to trade, race horses, and gamble. It's one of only three Great Basin ranges which were glaciated; and the remnants of those glacial troughs are
remarkably colored. Thankfully, it's far enough from major population centers to
remain uncrowded. And formal preservation status has prevented the slopes getting
spoiled by trophy homes.
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