Pike Creek
- Easy (to end of road)
- 2.8 miles round trip
- 850 feet elevation gain
- Open late April through November
- Use: hikers, horses
- Difficult (to forks)
- 5.4 miles round trip
- 1400 feet elevation gain
At first glance, it hardly seems possible for a hiking route to be hiding on Steens Mountain’s east face, a mile-high cliff that juts from the Alvord Desert’s alkali flats to a sky full of snow-streaked crags. At Pike Creek, however, an ancient mining road gives hikers a secret entryway into a spectacular box canyon of colorful rock formations and wildflowers.
Drive here via …
If you have a passenger car …
This chapter taken from the book 100 Hikes/Travel Guide: Eastern Oregon.