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The Owyhee

Oregon

By Yes Mom I'm Alive

THE LONG DRIVE

Snowed out of our initial plans, Jeff and I decided to try something completely different for the long weekend: The Owyhee Canyonlands, an isolated desert wilderness area on the border between Oregon and Idaho. It's been on our radar for some time now but always seemed just out of reach for a regular two-day weekend.

After scribbling down directions and filling some jugs with water, we jumped in the car early Friday afternoon and drove 8 hours east. We camped an hour north of the canyonlands in Ontario, Oregon and early the next morning headed south until the pavement ended.

PAINTED CANYON LOOP

The roads leading in and around the Owyhee wilderness are not maintained nor well-marked, making wayfinding difficult – even with the $12 detailed map we picked up from a local gas station.

Before leaving I jotted down directions I found online to the Painted Canyon Loop. These directions ended up being so frustratingly wrong they might've well said:

Drive down the gravel road until you encounter a pothole the size of a dwarf planet. After excavating your car, take a left. At the third dilapidated cow through, speak ‘friend’ and a secret road will appear. About 400 meters as the crow flies, begin fighting as a couple because you’re hopelessly lost but too stubborn to turn around. After 2 minutes of arguing, you’ll come across a pasture of cows. Find the One True Cow King. Knell before him and he’ll take you to the road you seek. After 1.24 miles precisely, turn off the car, accept that you’re lost, and wait for the high noon sun to kill you.

DETOUR

After the third hour of being lost, we traced our route back to the nearby town of Homedale, Idaho to get our bearings...and some ice cream.

LESLIE GULCH

After cooling our jets, we returned to the dusty road. We decided to head to the (easier to find) Leslie Gulch area to hike and set up camp.

Leslie Gulch is a geological wonderland, part-Utah, part-Smith Rock. It's named after Hiram Leslie, a rancher who was hit and killed by lightning in the area in the 1880s. Apparently that's all you need to do in order to get a canyon named in your honor.

SLOCUM CREEK

We set up camp first at Slocum Creek. No one else was there. Probably because it was 107 degrees.

OWYHEE LAKE

The heat was so intense we headed down to the Owhyee Lake for a cool swim. Unfortunately, it smelled awful and the water was green. I think the recent heat wave caused some kind of algae bloom in the lake and killed dozens of fish, which we found washed up on the shore.

We didn't stay long.

JUNIPER GULCH

By the time we returned from the lake, the sun was starting to set and temperatures were cooling. We headed to Juniper Gulch for a hike into the canyon.

TIMBER GULCH

We headed back to camp before the sun set too far down. On the road back we passed Timber Gulch and some rock features that remind me of a desert-y Mount Fitz Roy.

CAMP

We returned to Slocum Creek to set up camp as the sun set. The campsite was a great spot - quiet, protected from the wind, and surrounded by inspiring rock features housing several raven nests. We made dinner and ate Pop Tart S'mores before crawling into our tent for the night.

THE NEXT DAY

We woke up the next morning to beautiful light hitting the red spires surrounding camp. We had coffee and breakfast and enjoyed the temperate early morning.

With a forecast of another 100+ degrees, we decided to leave the Owyhee area a day early. It was not an easy decision because there was so much more we wanted to see, but we knew it wasn't a good idea to hike in that kind of heat all day. We agreed to return - with all of our friends we can convince to join us - in the fall or spring to finish what we started.

Stubbornly on our way out we attempted to find the Painted Canyon trailhead one last time. We must've missed the left turn after the third dilapidated cow through and found ourselves lost once again.

You win this time, Cow King.

ADVICE

WHERE TO GO

The Owyhee Canyonlands wilderness spans some 267,000 acres - it's larger than Yellowstone! Having a map and a general sense of direction is essential. Below is a map of the general wilderness area, marking the sites you are most likely to want to visit.

The Honeycombs. This is where the Painted Canyon Loop trail begins. However, you can continue to hike the trail further east for supposedly for a 18-mile roundtrip overnight.

Succor Creek. Succor Creek is both a campground and a year-round running creek. The area has some interesting rock cliffs and there is a very easy trail that runs along the creek.

Leslie Gulch. This is the most interesting area in the northern part of the park for hiking and admiring rocks. The larger Leslie Gulch is comprised of a few smaller gulches you can hike into: Juniper, Dago, Upper Leslie and Timber. At the far west section of the canyon is a boat launch for Lake Owyhee.

Three Forks Rivers. This is where Jeff and I would have gone on our third day if we had stayed. The Three Forks is a confluence of three tributaries of the Owyhee River. In the area is a hot springs where you can sit under a waterfall!

Rome. If you are making the trip south to Three Forks, you might as well head west to see the impressive Pillars of Rome. Rome was name after some eroded clay cliffs that resemble the ruined temples of Rome, Italy (heard of it?). Technically the Pillars of Rome are not part of the Owyhee, but they are off the OR-95 if you plan to return west to home.

Between these places is just miles and miles of dusty golden hills, roaming cow herds, off-road tracks and neat random chunks of rock.

Recommended Routes

Leslie Gulch. Leslie Gulch is the name of a large canyon containing in close proximity several smaller gulches - Juniper Gulch, Timber Gulch, Upper Leslie Gulch and Dago Gulch. Juniper (1.6 miles, flat) is perhaps the most interesting if you only want to do one.

Painted Canyon Loop to the Honeycombs. You can do a 5-mile loop into Carlton Canyon or keep going west to get to Owyhee Lake and the Honeycombs. This hike can go as long as you'd like, but you should have plenty of water and a compass and map with you. The directions to the Painted Canyon trailhead we got from the Owyhee official page are just plain wrong - use these directions instead.

Three Forks River Hike. We didn't make it down this far on this trip but we will be making our way to this hot spring next time.

Other Recreational Activities

There are other recreation opportunities in the area, including climbing, boating, bird and wildlife viewing, ATV'ing, and fishing. Visit Explore Owyhee for access information and recommendations.

Camping

There are four primitive campgrounds in the Owyhee. These sites are free and maintained by the BLM. As always, please practice the leave no trace principles.

In the northern area, there are two campgrounds:

Succor Creek Campground has 18 campsites adjacent to a small creek that runs year-round (water must be filtered for drinking).

Slocum Creek Campground is a great choice if you plan to hike in the Leslie Gulch, as it's just a few miles down the road from the trailhead and Lake Owyhee. Each of the 12 spots has a covered picnic table and fire pit. Despite its name, there is no running creek at Slocum so bring your own water. There is a surprisingly well-maintained pit toilet here.

Further south, your choices for camping are:

Three Forks Campground. Four primitive spots can be found on the eastern bend of the river. Hot springs-adjacent.

Anderson Crossing Campground. Anderson Crossing is found at the West Owyhee River Crossing and is the most remote of all the places in the Canyonland. The road to this campground is supposedly very difficult and requires crossing a creek. Undertake with caution!

There are no toilets at either Three Forks or Anderson Crossing. Plan to pack out all of your waste. There is creek water at both sites but it must be treated and filtered.

Safety

High clearance vehicle or Subaru recommended. A sedan can make it to Succor Creek and Leslie Gulch, but not much else. Carry a spare tire and jack if you plan to leave the Succor Creek road - the side roads are not maintained and can be very rocky. If there is water on the road from a recent rain, do not attempt any side roads.

Sunglasses, sunscreen and a hat are essential. Because sun.

Bring a map, GPS and/or compass. As I always say, it's better to be safe than hopelessly lost in the desert. No surprise here - there's no cell reception out in the Owyhee. Let someone at home know your general hiking itinerary.

Food and Water

The surrounding towns of Homedale, Ontario and Adrian all have full grocery stores. I recommend reserving one meal at the Frosty Palace in Homedale (the traditional order is a burger and the Pink Lady shake).

Bring plenty of water. We brought about 40L for three days. We also brought some Gatorade powder mix to replenish electrolytes.

Gas

The surrounding towns of Homedale, Ontario, and Adrian all have gas stations. The price per gallon is a little higher than you'd find in less-remote areas near Boise or Portland but it's not bad. I recommend filling up whenever you pass by a gas station as you can cover many miles in the Owyhee.

Questions?

I'm not an Owyhee expert (yet!) but I'm happy to help you plan your trip! Leave a comment below or email me at yesmomimalive@gmail.com to get in touch.

Footnotes

All photos by Britt Q.

Button Label

FootNotes

All photos by Britt Q.

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