Wallowa Mountains
The ride around the Wallowa Mountains is a classic multi‐day ride that is a good introduction to some of the more remote areas of Oregon. The Wallowa Mountains is an area that includes 126 peaks taller than 8,000 feet, lakes, rushing streams and waterfalls, and alpine meadows all so majestic and beautiful that they are commonly referred to as the “Oregon Alps”. Luckily for bicycle riders, the mountains rise abruptly out of the surrounding river valleys allowing riders to circumnavigate the mountain range with relative ease.

This northeastern corner of Oregon has limited services available which means that the length of each days ride is dictated primarily by the location of available services. This is so true that it has been said that there are only two variations to this ride – clockwise and counterclockwise. The loop is just less than 300 miles but the daily mileage range can range from 30 to 70 some miles per day.

Our preferred route for this tour starts and finishes in La Grande, and it includes 5 days of riding with 2 layover/activity days. The first day of riding brings us into Baker City, where some groups choose to reward themselves after just one day of riding with a stay at the Geiser Grand Hotel. A long second day of riding gets us to Oxbow on the Snake River where we setup camp for two nights. Our layover day is spent rafting the Snake River in the section of Hells Canyon where the river has been designated a National Wild and Scenic River.

We then take two days to traverse the mountainous section of the ride on our way to Joseph. Our camping support services come in pretty handy on this leg of the tour since the only accommodations that are available between Oxbow and Joseph are “undeveloped” campgrounds. We spend two nights just outside of Joseph at the Wallowa Lake Campground so that we can explore the area. Taking the tram to the top of Mt Howard and hiking around to the viewpoints that look up into the Wallowa Mountains is the next best thing to spending a week hiking up into the wilderness area. Then you will spend an afternoon wandering around the bronze foundries, galleries, and shops of Joseph. One last long day of riding gets us back to La Grande where most riders opt for a comfortable hotel room for the night before returning home on the bus the next day.

With the emphasis on tourism within the Wallowa Whitman National Forest and the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area there are many options for enjoying other events and activities.

Examples of these include:

• Rafting on the Snake River
• Oregon Trail Interpretive Center visit
• Joseph’s Bronze, Blues & Brews Fest
• Hells Canyon Overlook viewpoint visit
• Chief Joseph Days
• Terminal Gravity Brewery visit

Use our Events Calendar to include these and other events and activities in your own custom tour.