Lower Wenaha River

  • Easy (to National Forest)
  • 4.6 miles round trip
  • 350 feet elevation gain
  • Open all year
  • Use: hikers, horses


  • Difficult (to Crooked Creek)
  • 12.8 miles round trip
  • 580 feet elevation gain


Like a jagged crack in the planet’s crust, the Wenaha River canyon zigzags from the remote village of Troy into the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness. A 31.4-mile trail follows the river from the start of its desert canyon to its source high in the Blue Mountains. For an easy day trip, explore the first few miles of the path. For a longer trip, continue to a campsite near the Crooked Creek footbridge.

From Interstate 84 in La Grande, take...

Other Options

Backpackers and equestrians can...

This chapter taken from the book 100 Hikes/Travel Guide: Eastern Oregon.