Craig Terry, ONDA member and stewardship volunteer
“The people I have had the privilege to share time with each season keep me volunteering again and again. Who else but those ONDA staff leaders would make fresh coffee at dawn each morning or pack a watermelon all day to serve as a reward under a juniper in a steep canyon?” Craig, who...
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Wildhorse Lake
Wildhorse Lake fills the bottom of a deep cirque with high surrounding walls on three sides that give way on one side to an open view of the horizon beyond. This treeless bowl is streaked with tiny creeks and even tinier rivulets that flow only after there’s been rain. You’ll start out by heading...
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Steens Mountain Summit
On your way to the top of Steens Mountain Summit trailhead, you’ll pass by two amazing viewpoints that involve short walks—Kiger Gorge and the East Rim—and we recommend stopping at both of these viewpoints and hiking up to the summit as well. The first stop along the drive is the Kiger Gorge Viewpoint parking...
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Oregon’s first desert wilderness
Steens Mountain: Oregon’s first desert wilderness On October 30, 2000, Congress passed the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Act, finishing the work that had taken ONDA and the other members of the Steens-Alvord Coalition decades. Steens Mountain is a land of startling contrasts: dramatic u-shaped glacial valleys, groves of quaking aspen, uplands...
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Big Indian Gorge
The Big Indian Gorge Trail is 8 miles to the headwall of the gorge and passes through meadows as well as cottonwood and aspen groves. It’s easy to follow for the first 7 miles and then it fades away and becomes a cross-country hike. There are three stream crossings along the way, which can...
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Pike Creek
An old mining track leads 1.4 miles up the canyon through a rugged rock narrows with wildflowers and views of the desert playa below. Two creek crossings can be difficult to pass in early spring and after summer thunderstorms. Along this trail, you’ll find an old cabin and an old mine on the way...
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Visitor’s Guide to Steens Mountain Region
It may look like a small mountain range, but Steens is actually just one massive mountain. When you visit the largest fault block mountain in North America, expect extremes. Snow falls earlier and lingers longer than you might expect in the high country here, so be sure to check road reports before heading out....
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Little Blitzen Gorge
The Little Blitzen Gorge Trail follows the Little Blitzen River up a long, glacially carved canyon. Expect wildflowers, springs, aspen, and waterfalls. From the trailhead parking lot, walk 100 yards to the start of the trail on the left. This path descends a mile to a bridgeless creek crossing that can typically be accomplished...
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