Pine Lakes

  • Easy (to Chute Falls)
  • 4.2 miles round trip
  • 480 feet elevation gain
  • Open June through November
  • Use: hikers, horses


  • Difficult (to Pine Lakes)
  • 14.8 miles round trip
  • 2720 feet elevation gain
  • Open late July through October


  • Difficult (around Cornucopia Mtn)
  • 18.2-mile loop
  • 3700 feet elevation gain


The 1885 boomtown of Cornucopia extracted $15 million of gold from the southern Wallowa Mountains before its mines closed in 1941. Today the town’s derelict buildings, with their spookily tilted porches and gaping windows, seem strangely out of place so near the Eagle Cap Wilderness. A trail from the ghost town climbs to the Pine Lakes, a pair of deep green pools in a gorgeous alpine basin of heather, wildflowers, and granite cliffs. For a backpacking trip, continue on a loop around Cornucopia Mountain.

From Baker City, drive Interstate …

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