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.