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| Mining Eastern Oregon |
AFTER THREE DECADES OF RVING THIS GREAT COUNTRY, it's sometimes difficult to find a new road to explore or new vistas to admire. On our most recent visit to the Pacific Northwest, we found a real jewel. Oregon's Elkhorn Drive Scenic Byway isn't really hidden, but you do have to swing off the interstate and allow a day or two to enjoy a road that offers dramatic scenery, gold rush history and plenty to do.
The best place to pick up this drive is in Baker City, a pleasant community in eastern Oregon. Anyone who has traveled in this part of the state is aware of the long stretches of little but high-plains scenery, but the Elkhorn Range west of Baker City provides a lovely respite, especially for those who prefer tree-covered mountains. Except for side trips, the entire route is paved.
When you leave Interstate 84 at the Baker City off-ramp, check your fuel gauge. There are a couple of service stations on the 106-mile-loop drive, but prices are bound to be higher there.
Baker City is one of many boom towns that were established during a Civil War-era gold rush. Most of them were abandoned, but the cattle industry and the coming of the railroad spared Baker City. You might want to stop by the U.S. Bank on Main Street to see the 5-pound gold nugget on display there.
From Baker City, you'll go south on State Route 7 to begin your scenic tour. Following the Powder River, you'll notice a distinct change in scenery as you drive through a canyon and enter the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.
If you are driving a small motorhome or your dinghy, you might venture four miles up a gravel road to the site of Auburn, once a booming and reportedly lawless mining camp. It also was the county seat. That changed in 1868 when a few law-abiding citizens loaded all of the county records on a wagon and announced that Baker City was the new county seat. All that remains in Auburn are some tombstones and legends of gambling and gunfights.
If your plans include an overnight visit, check out Union Creek Campground on the shores of Phillips Lake. En route to the turnoff for the campground, you'll come to the Mason Dam picnic area, where you can try your hand at fishing in the Powder River. You'll also enjoy a view of the lake at the Mason Dam Overlook, on your left.
Union Creek Campground, which has some full-hookup sites, is a great base if you're driving your dinghy around the loop the following day. The sites are spacious, and the lake is suitable for boating with plenty of room for water-skiing. You'll find a fish-cleaning station and a boat ramp, as well as a swimming area and lots of hiking trails.
If you are interested in seeing and photographing wildlife, your best opportunity will be at the Mowich Loop Wildlife Viewing Area, where you will find picnic tables and restrooms. Some of the wildlife you might see, depending on the time of day and the season, are waterfowl and shorebirds, mule and white-tail deer, squirrels, weasels and chipmunks.
In addition, there are reports that gold can still be found in the area. A site that has been designated for this purpose can be found at Miller Creek Campground. However, it is situated four miles up a narrow gravel road that is not suitable for any motorhome. If you want to look for gold, take some gold-panning equipment and your dinghy. Any gold you find in this area is yours to keep.
Plenty of parking is available at the depot of the Sumpter Valley Railroad. (The other end of this short line is in Sumpter.) If you time your trip on a summer weekend or a holiday, you can board the train for a short ride on the remaining rails through piles of tailings left by the gold dredge. There is a wood-burning engine parked at the station, which looks just as it did more than 100 years ago.
When you come to Sumpter Junction, State Route 7 will head south; to continue on the byway, take County Road 410 into the little town of Sumpter. Without a doubt, the largest attraction in town is the enormous Sumpter Valley Dredge, adjacent to the railroad station.
The dredge, which is the centerpiece of a state heritage area, is one of the largest still intact in the entire country. Although a half-century has passed since it lifted its last load of ore-bearing material, it is a silent testimony to man's quest for gold. The dredge could lift 25 one-ton buckets of gravel per minute, dumping it into six sluice boxes where gold was recovered. The dredge was responsible for producing $4.5 million in gold, and it left behind more than six miles of tailings in the valley. It must have been awesome to see this enormous piece of machinery in action.
The town of Sumpter is worth a visit. It was established in 1862 by five Confederate soldiers seeking gold. Word of its discovery spread and, before long, the town had grown to include 15 saloons, three newspapers and an opera house. The arrival of hydraulic placer mining brought even more people to work the hard-rock mines and the dredging operation, as well as the brickyard, sawmill and smelter. By then, there were five hotels, three general stores, a school, four churches, a telephone system and a fire department to serve the 3,000 residents.
In 1917, a devastating fire leveled most of the commercial buildings to rubble and ashes, and Sumpter never regained its prefire momentum. The dredging operation ceased in 1954, but Sumpter is not considered a ghost town. About 130 residents call Sumpter home today.
As you leave Sumpter, you will take County Road 24 as it winds its way up to Blue Springs Summit, which tops out at 5,864 feet. On this stretch of the road, you'll be treated to panoramic views of the Elkhorn Range. There are plenty of places to pull over and enjoy the scenery. If you are a fan of winter sports, you might want to plan a return visit to enjoy the 150 miles of groomed snowmobile trails in the area.
Between the summit and the turnoff for the townsite of Granite, you will be driving through an area that provides a good example of how the U.S. Forest Service met a natural disaster with a new-growth program. In the 1970s, many of the pine trees in the area suffered from an invasion of mountain pine beetles. After the salvageable dead trees were harvested, new growth resulted in the young but lush forest you see today. These trees will be thinned to make way for future growth.
Don't miss the townsite of Granite. The original community, which was situated about 1.5 miles south of the present settlement, was named Independence, in commemoration of the discovery of gold there on July 4, 1862. When it came time to establish a post office to serve the community, the name had to be changed; there already was an Independence, Oregon.
By 1900, the town now known as Granite had been moved to its present location, which was closer to the mining activities. At its peak, there were two hotels, three stores, five saloons, a drugstore, stables, a dance hall, a blacksmith shop and a newspaper. But just as suddenly as it flourished, the town saw a quick demise and, except for a few diehards, became a ghost town.
To fully appreciate the past and present of Granite, which is enjoying a rebirth, take time to do some exploring. In addition to a new service station and country store, it has an RV park, a lodge, two restaurants and a bakery. Although many of the original structures were razed in the 1950s, some are still standing.
When you leave Granite, continue north on Forest Road 73 about 1.5 miles up the road toward the Chinese walls. Like most mining camps, the one here was home to a sizeable population of Chinese laborers. After the placer miners had reaped all of the easy gold from the river, they turned their claims over to the Chinese, who reworked them and gleaned still more gold from the streambeds. As the Chinese miners made their way upstream, they left behind walls of large boulders that they had removed from the stream.
In about five miles, you'll come to a meadow where wildlife can usually be seen in the early morning or late evening hours. Beyond that is the North Fork John Day Campground and the junction with the Blue Mountain Scenic Byway, which leads to the northwest.
To stay on the Elkhorn Drive Scenic Byway, continue on Forest Road 73 and be prepared for an elevation change. Blue Springs Summit was not the highest point on this byway; you'll find that at Elkhorn Summit with an elevation of 7,392 feet. En route to the summit, you'll pass many trailheads, including a loop trail to Crawfish Lake, which is a little more than one mile off the road. (Note: Parts of this road are closed in the winter.)
After leaving the summit, look to your left for a sign pointing to Grande Ronde Lake. This little gem has a campground, but it's not suitable for large motorhomes. Stop for a while to enjoy a picnic or to launch a small boat for a cruise around the lake. Notice the large meadow to the west, which is beginning to support a few trees and lots of wildflowers. All of this basin was once under water, and as streams continue to carry debris into the existing lake, the entire area will become a meadow, but that is many centuries into the future.
Less than one mile after returning to the loop road, turn right to the Anthony Lakes Ski Area and Campground. This year-round resort offers fishing and water activities, along with hiking and biking trails in the summer and snowmobiling, downhill and cross-country skiing in the winter. The small campground, which is open from June 15 to October 30, cannot accommodate large motorhomes or those with slideouts.
There are two other lakes in the area, Van Patten and Dutch Creek, but both require long and strenuous hikes to reach them. From Anthony Lakes, you'll be dropping back down into Baker Valley on a steep and winding road, which is one reason for taking the byway in a clockwise direction. The climb from Baker Valley to Anthony Lakes might be a challenge, especially for big coaches. While making the descent, you'll be driving through more lush forests, so don't rush this part of the drive. Just switch to low gear and watch for lots of curves. You'll also find some pullouts for viewing the valley.
When you reach level ground, you will come to a junction with U.S. Highway 30. Turn south toward the town of Haines, a little farming community where the Eastern Oregon Museum provides a glimpse into the rowdy mining camps you have visited. Continue on to Baker City to complete the loop. You'll be driving through some rich farmland that has been yielding crops since the days of the gold rush. Baker City was established as an agricultural supply center for miners and continues to be a pastoral area for livestock, hay and grain.
We retraced the road from Baker City to the Union Creek Campground at Phillips Lake, where we had left our motorhome, to spend another night. Driving our dinghy had made the daylong outing much easier, especially on the winding roads.
Most people who visit Oregon head for the coastline, but the eastern region should not be ignored, especially if you are entering the state from that direction. There are a number of scenic areas and lovely places to camp that offer an escape from the sometimes unpleasant heat in the lower elevations.
Give eastern Oregon a try!
Article by: Beverly Edwards
Photos by: Beverly Edwards
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