Not all of the best goals in the southern Wallowa Mountains are as difficult to reach as Arrow and Eagle Lakes . Even families with children can generally manage the trek to Eagle Creek Meadow, a creekside field surrounded by granite canyon walls reminiscent of the Swiss Alps. From there, a side trail climbs the canyon wall 2 miles to beautiful Bear Lake, one of the few large alpine lakes in Northeast Oregon that has never been dammed to serve as an irrigation reservoir.

Start by driving to . . .

This chapter is an excerpt from 100 Hikes: Eastern Oregon