While spring and fall are your best bets, the mountain Loop Road is only open certain months of the year - typically August and September - so you'll want to check on that before starting out. A gated road (closed to the public) goes right to the top, at 9,737 feet to service an array of communications towers. At 9348 feet this point overlooks the Kiger Gorge and the "Big Nick" notch. Making The road can be rough on the descent, with some washboarding, but its a small price to pay for seeing the land youre riding through. It is also home to a herd of the famous wild Kiger mustangs featured in the movie "Spirit." Along the way, I cannot find the link online (keep checking the webpage) and I forget the issue. Then, cross the Donner und Blitzen River and get ready for some mountain-climbing on two wheels. The loop road typically opens in June, but snowfall in this desert land can be highly variable from year to year.Summiting the mountain via its steep eastern face should not be taken lightly. There are pit toilets at the South Steens campground if you need to make a bathroom stop. The result was four immense U-shaped gorgesKiger, Little Blitzen, Big Indian, and Wildhorse. You are allowed to drive out and camp anywhere on the playa except for along the west side, which is private property. Many animals are drawn to Steens' unique habitats. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. . sometimes be spotted negotiating rocky escarpments; pronghorn antelope, Youll come away with an up-close-and-personal appreciation for the scale of this geologic goliath, with its glacier-carved valleys, aspen groves, pure-water lakes and views to forever. Its bumpy in places, but much of the surface has been upgraded and improved in recent years, except for one short, narrow, steep section of the road near the viewpoints of Big Indian and Little Blitzen gorges. Located at 4080 feet on the Alvord Desert Playa these springs are roughly nine miles north of the Andrews ghost town along the Fields-Denio road. Although located in the Southeast corner of Oregon hundreds of miles from any major cites, the mountain is very accessible given a tolerance for driving. Although the views are breath taking, so are the very steep drop offs, sharp turns and often narrow road. Fuel may be available in the towns of Fields, Frenchglen, Crane, or the Narrows. You can ride this loop in either direction, but for the sake of this description lets assume you want to save the most stupendous views for later in the trip. This is the only place you can see the Borax Lake Chub, a fish that has evolved to survive in what is essentially a hot spring. Some of the graffiti scratched into the tree bark was made decades ago by Basque shepherds, many of whom first arrived in Oregon in the late 19th century and settled in the southeastern corner of the state. Turn right onto State Highway 205 and travel south for 60 miles to Frenchglen, Oregon. That being said, the trip up to snow line was breathtaking and beautiful! Ivisited in the early fall and there was one other car. Borax Lake: A treasure truly unique to Oregon is this 100+ degree pond hidden amidst the wastes of the southern Alvord Desert near Fields. Stonehouse BM: A steep 4x4 road crawls up Stonehouse Creek and breaks across the north escarpment near Mann Lake. The herd is managed by the Bureau of Land Management to preserve their And Steens is not the only wonder youll experience; theres also the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, the aforementioned Alvord Desert, and the milkshakes in Fields. 28910 Hwy 20 West Hog Key on the Gulf Coast is open for camping, but the middle of the key is closed. I wish I had better words to tell you how amazing this place is. The full loop is a long day of serious gravel cycling with more than 7,500 feet in elevation gain. "Society speaks and all men listen, mountains speak and wise men listen." Steens Mountain is located 60 miles south of Burns near Frenchglen and Page Springs Campground. Bring our travel magazine along. The road to the summit is steep. We spent well over 3 hours completing the entire drive. You also agree to the storing of cookies on As youre pedaling along, tune in to the chorus of bird calls and see how many distinct ones you can distinguish. Sixty-six miles in length, the first half of the loop is gravel with some washboarding and general roughness; but its usually passable in a low clearance vehicle from July until September, or even into November if snow comes late in the year. Always start your trip with a full tank of fuel and call ahead for current information about fuel availability in the Steens Mountain area. It's an amazingly scenic drive that is a worthy part of any trip to the Steens. Do you know any spectacular road?Click here to send us all the info, and we'll publish it! A note: From here to Fields, its a long and typically hot stretch of riding just over 100 miles, so carry two days worth of water with you. However the lower Kiger Gorge and Wildhorse Canyon are inaccessible from the lowlands.In comparing the gentle western slopes to the dramatic east face, using either side as access requires completely different levels of skill. Hiking is available in all areas and trailheads exist near Page Springs and South Steens Campgrounds, as well as Wildhorse Overlook and Pike Creek. Surrounded by a healthy stand of willows and aspens, here a wide variety of wildlife can be found including beavers further down Lake Creek below the lake. This 59-mile/95-kilometer loop includes the highest road in Oregon, traveling around and up this grand Great Basin landmark. Download a detailed guide (PDF). The mountain loop is also the only truly rough riding. Dont know how we could have backed up if we had met another car. The North Loop road is not as steep as the South Loop. To avoid any potential issues, it's best to camp on the south, e Take in the View from Steens Mountain Summit, Hike Pike Creek Trail in the Steens Mountains. From Burns follow State Route 205 south for about 60 miles to Frenchglen, which hosts a store, gas station, and post office in one building that is not always open; and a nice historic hotel (think bed and breakfast). as well as Irish and Basque sheepherders, were once drawn to the upper The trail comprises deep glacier-carved gorges, wild rivers, a rich diversity of plant and animal species, and alpine lakes with aspen for shade. From Baker Pass in the north to Long Hollow in the south, The Steens as a mountain range is nearly 60 miles long and 18 miles across. Steens Mountain is the largest fault-block mountain in the northern Great Basin. This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. It can be driven by standard vehicles and passenger cars shouldnt have any trouble. Next up is the tiny ranching outpost of Fields, where the drive-in is renowned for both their food and their ice cream and not just because its the only option for a very long way in any direction. west slope of the mountain may receive as much as 25' of precipitation, Sightseeing in Kiger Gorge at Steens Mountain. The Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area (CMPA) consists of 428,156 acres of public land offering diverse scenic and recreational experiences. A standard touring bike with wider tires (35c to 38c) will work nicely. Follow this link to interactive maps of this amazing area! From Kiger Gorge, continue for 3 more miles to East Rim Overlookwhere you overlookthe Alvord Desert from the highest point of the mountain. The 52-mile Steens Mountain Backcountry Byway provides access to four campgrounds and the views from Kiger Gorge, East Rim, Big Indian Gorge, Wildhorse and Little Blitzen Gorge overlooks are not to be missed! Heres an idea of the scale: At the top of the mountains loop road, youre standing at nearly 10,000 feet, looking down at the Alvord Desert, almost exactly vertically below you at around 4,000 feet. Learn more about travel impacts in Oregon. The road to the summit opens every June, and its gates remain unlocked until October or whenever snowfall makes passage unsafe. Phone service should not be relied on for emergency communication. Check with local BLM authorities. Blustery, 100-degree days are common and snow can fall year-round. Steens Mountain (Frenchglen) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go, Hotels near Boise Air Terminal (Gowen Field) (BOI), Motels near Boise Air Terminal (Gowen Field) (BOI), Tempeh Making and Cooking Authentic Balinese Dishes, Olden Shore Excursion: the Amazing Briksdal Glacier, Intimate Waimea Canyon Half Day Eco Fun Tour from South Kauai, Experience Santorini: Wine Tasting Small Group Tour, Sol Duc, Lake Crescent, and Hurricane Ridge Guided Tour in Olympic National Park, Etna - Trekking to the summit craters (only guide service) experienced hikers, Full-Day Guided Tour of San Francisco with Alcatraz, 2-Day Tour: Petra, Wadi Rum, and Dead Sea from Amman. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Ready to hit the road? 5 Star Route / Burns, Oregon / Published July 2018. The Act is a culmination of a cooperative effort between Oregon's Congressional delegation, Oregon's Governor, and the Secretary of the Interior to forge legislation that will provide long-term protection to the cultural, economic, ecological, and social health of the Steens Mountain Area. So head north out of Frenchglen up Highway 205 to get warmed up; after almost 18 miles of pavement, veer off the highway toward Diamond (even smaller than Frenchglen, but another great historic hotel/restaurant) and then onto the first stretch of the many, many miles of unpaved road youll experience. eagles, the largest raptor on Steens Mountain, can often be seen riding Fish Lake Campground, elevation 7,400 feet, and Jackman Park Campground, elevation 7,800 feet, will both be open and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Ticks, mosquitoes, and rattlesnakes in certain areas during spring and summer. MLS# 201001561. Later, the area became known as Steen's Mountain, named after the Army Cavalry Major, who defeated and removed the Native American population from the mountain during the Snake Indian Wars. Burns District Office The rest of the Steens Mountain Loop Road can accommodate passenger cars at lower speeds. All campgrounds on Steens Mountain are open and in full service. It is some of the wildest and most remote land left in Oregon. Located on the north side of the creek, gaining permission to travel on this land from the Alvord Ranch may be necessary. Several private outfitters and guides offer opportunities for personalized tours or other activities. You can ride this loop in either direction, but for the sake of this description lets assume you want to save the most stupendous views for later in the trip. Routes are non-existent and the rock along knife-edge ridges and headwalls is surprisingly crumbly. Seeing it from the Alvord Desert reveals that it is in fact a giant pinnacle of near-unreachable Steens Basalt. I coloni portarono il bestiame nell'area nel 1872. 2023 Travel Oregon | The official guide to Oregon travel and tourism information. Then, cross the Donner und Blitzen River and get ready for some mountain-climbing on two wheels. A lock ( For being comprised of basalt, the vertical rock along the east face is substantially rotten. Quando i fratelli d'Indovinello arrivarono il 1900, ci furono 100.000 bestiame e pecora che sfiora la gamma aperta in dintorno di valli Steens. I love spending time in the city of Burns, they have some great parks and restaurants. We heard about the loop from our RV site neighbors. Rough terraindeep canyons and rocky slopes are a natural party of the rugged mountain territory. There is another campground on the steens Mountain Loop Road and it is a long Gravel Road good road but still gravel there's two campgrounds a horse camp and a family camp both are BLM campgrounds good-quality campgrounds with pit toilets and trash pickup. While much of the highlands are within hiking distance of the loop road and open to the public, some of the deep gorges are privately owned by large local ranches. A short trail drops from the summit road down to the lake, a hike that can be done round trip in less than 2 hours from the Steens Mountain Loop Road. Give yourself 3 hours to drive with short stops; plan for 4 to 5 if you will be doing more exploring. A true desert isnt something you come across too often, but this expanse thats more akin to the Bonneville Salt Flats than the Gobi or Sahara, is one very large piece of flatness. Bring our travel magazine along. Oct 1, 2019 HI LetsRun! In summer driving the loop road offers quick access to the summit via a quarter mile hike up a maintenance road. Talk about seeing what you just climbed. It took up about 3 hours with view stops and lunch. Let's keep in touch. enhance and customize your user experience, and to analyze how our It is also home to a herd of the famous wild Kiger mustangs featured in the movie "Spirit." A few established campgrounds and . mule deer and elk also call the mountain home. We recommend high clearance or 4x4 vehicles for primitive roads, including the steep and rocky portion of the Steens Mountain Loop Road near South Steens Campground. The road is not difficult at all. A true desert isnt something you come across too often, but this expanse thats more akin to the Bonneville Salt Flats than the Gobi or Sahara, is one very large piece of flatness. Museum, art gallery, performing arts theater seating 645, gift shop & conference center[], The Wild and Scenic Snake River flows through the rugged Hells Canyon, and at 1,078 miles long, it is the largest tributary to the Colu[], Towering cliffs painted in desert hues and honeycombed rock formations sculpted over millions of years form the landscape of this remot[]. High Clearance Vehicles Recommended on some portions of the Steens Mountain Loop. Youre back on 205, and this time it looks like a causeway as it bisects two shallow lakes (water levels are quite seasonal; no guarantees on how much youll see here). The payback for the many miles of climbing is the steep downhill back to Frenchglen. Make sure to visit the little community of French Glen and go into the store. You will find signs posted at the site stating that the water here is excessively hot and that there have been fatalities here in the past.Wildhorse Lake: The best known of Steens Mountain's glacially formed moraine lakes sits at the head of Wildhorse Canyon just beneath the summit. The result was a 30-mile-long fault-block mountain with a spectacular and rugged east face that rises one vertical mile above the Alvord Desert. From the summit, the tour route eases down the mountains western slope. Notes: Consider the timing of your journey: Theres almost no shade in this area that routinely hits 90 degrees, and water is extremely limited. A tilted mesa with an active fault on its steep, eastern side, this fault-block mountain has risen up in the past five to seven million years. wild horse country. A scenic loop road (Steens Mountain National Back Country Byway) is found on the south end of town and provides easy access to the high country. You can find just about anything to suit your fancy here whether youre into glacier views of Mount Hood or exploring remote jeep roads and sleeping in the sagebrush. The climb up and west from Fields on Highway 205 will give you a miniature preview of what youll encounter scaling Steens later on. The road to the summit of Steens Mountain is the highest road in Oregon, reaching nearly 10,000 feet. Couloir climbing may be an option, but should be approached as a multiday trek with the possibility of avalanche from giant cornices that mass along the summit crest.Check links on the Burns BLM page for updates on the loop road conditions and when it opens. A. Weather conditionsthe mountains high elevation can cause rapid temperature changes. Youll connect to Highway 78 at about Mile 65, and you can roll on to Crystal Crane Hot Springs at about Mile 74. Copyright 2023. There is a strong cell service and a wi fi. Make sure you bring warm clothes because it gets cold on the mountain even when the valley below is scorching hot. Kigermann is one of Oregon's Hundred Highest Peaks. And for you, if you are returning be sure and consider staying at Crystal Crane Springs, in Hines (5 mi from Burns). The mountain loop is also the only truly rough riding. Carl Axelsen, member since 1999 Youre back on 205, and this time it looks like a causeway as it bisects two shallow lakes (water levels are quite seasonal; no guarantees on how much youll see here). Make sure to visit the little community of French Glen and go into the store. This is one of the few places you can drive across the escarpment, and the road passes alongside "The Stonehouse", a large blocky outcropping of Basalt.Alvord Desert: The driest location in Oregon with less than 10" of annual rainfall is the Alvord Desert, which is the largest of several alluvial plains along the Fields-Denio Highway. I did not see any mustangs while there. (Great name). Because the Steens Mountain Loop was on husband's bucket list, we added it on to our annual late June Bend birthday/anniversary trip. The showers are very clean, as is the whole campground. They combine web maps created using ArcGIS Online, ESRI's mapping system, with multimedia contenttext, photos, video, and audioto let you know about the rich diversity of Oregon/Washington BLM's programs and places. About 8.5 miles up the road and its arrow-straight through here youre back off the highway again, and returning to true solitude for the 13 miles between highways. Eventually youll make it to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, home to tens of thousands of birds who stop here on their long migratory voyages. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Accessibility Description (ABA/ADA): Restrooms The Kiger Gorge overlook offers the visitor a breathtaking Alvord Peak: Overlooking Fields is this mountain at 7132 feet. At nearly 10,000ft in elevation and not being well known, the Steens will make you to feel like youre in a truly remote place. Steens Mountain, Frenchglen: Address, Steens Mountain Reviews: 5/5. Other mountains get all the attention in Oregon: Mt. Well, it turned out he WAS and the gate opened 5 days early a few minutes before we got there!! To the east, the 5000 foot dropoff into the bleak Alvord Desert, to the west the many deep glacial river valleys, to the south the Pueblo Mountains, and along the northern horizon is the Strawberry Mountains. Hines, OR 97730. Vehicles, sheep, and cows are banned in the wilderness. Youll once again cross the Donner und Blitzen River en route back to OR-205, the High Desert Discovery Scenic Byway. While not easily seen, Rocky Mountain elk, mule deer, mountain lion, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn antelope make this corner of southeast Oregon their home. 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