Northeast Oregon is terrific for people who enjoy sightseeing. Here are two great driving tours for your enjoyment.

HELLS CANYON SCENIC BYWAY

                An All-American Road 

Take a trip through the dramatic landscapes of Union, Wallowa and Baker Counties. This byway is an All-American Road, one of the country's 29 premier sightseeing routes, as designated by the Federal Highways Administration. It circles the spectacular peaks of the Wallowa Mountains and edges up to the Hells Canyon, the deepest fresh water canyon in the world. Small, friendly towns dot the route and provide all the comforts a traveler needs. You can find details at www.hellscanyonbyway.com

THE GRANDE TOUR

A state designated driving tour

The Grande Tour begins and ends in La Grande, home of Eastern Oregon University. La Grande is the largest city in a three county area and serves as center for commerce, education, and state government. Visitors drive through fertile farmlands, rugged sage-covered range lands and lush green forests. Rivers, creeks, and a reservoir add beauty to the route and reflect the importance of life-giving water to the livelihood of all of the area's residents; wild and domestic.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS

Begin the Grande Tour at the intersection of Fourth and Adams Avenue in Downtown La Grande. From Max Square Park, head south on Fourth Avenue and follow it up the hill to the intersection with C Avenue. Turn left and continue to the small parking lot of Birnie Park on the right side of the street. After seeing the memorial exhibit at Birnie Park, proceed on C Avenue which soon takes a bend and becomes Gekeler Road. Follow Gekeler about 1 mile and turn right onto Foothill Drive. Follow Foothill Drive four miles as it hugs the base of the hill and winds toward the south. A wildlife viewing sign directs you to a viewpoint overlooking the Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area, the Grande Ronde Valley and the distant peaks of the Wallowa Mountains.

Return to Foothill Drive and follow it across the freeway. An immediate left leads to a parking area and the Ladd Marsh Nature Trail. To continue on the tour route, turn right on Pierce Road then a quick curve to the left on Hot Lake Road. This section of the route is gravel, but it is well maintained and suitable for passenger cars. At the intersection with Oregon Highway 203, turn right and follow the paved highway to the town of Union. Follow the Main Street through the historic downtown and continue south. The highway is now Oregon Highway 237.

Stay on 237 for several miles through Pyles Canyon. Immediately after crossing the railroad overpass turn left on the gravel road that goes through the tiny railroad town, Telocaset. Stay on Telocaset Lane, turning left to cross the railroad. This gravel road will travel for six miles through wide open range country. The gravel road ends at an intersection with Oregon Highway 203, the Medical Springs Highway. Turn left onto the paved road and follow it past over the Catherine Creek Summit, and down the mountain.

Stay on this highway as it follows Catherine Creek past Catherine Creek State Park. Before entering Union again, turn right on Kofford Rd., then a quick left on High Valley Road. At the east edge of Union, turn right on Cove Highway, Oregon Highway 237, which will take you four miles to Cove. Continue through Cove on Highway 237 for one mile, then go straight onto Lower Cove Road and travel north along the foothills. Turn right onto the graveled Gray's Corner Road and then left onto Alicel Road and follow it to Oregon Highway 82. Cross Highway 82 at Alicel and continue on what is now called Standley Lane. Stay on Standley until it intersects with Mt. Glen Rd. Turn left onto Mt. Glen and follow it to Riverside Park on the northern edge of La Grande. To reach La Grande's main arterial, travel south on Spruce Street. Turn left at Monroe Ave. which will lead you across the railroad tracks to Island Avenue. A left turn here will take you to Interstate 84. A right turn will lead you through an underpass to Adams Avenue, turn right to downtown.

ROADWAY DESCRIPTIONS

Most of the Grande Tour has a paved surface and is a two lane highway. However, there are a few sections that are hard gravel surfaces. On portions of the route, there may be occasional closure in bad weather.

The entire route of the Grande Tour is appropriate for recreation vehicles. Although there are no bike lanes along the route, all paved sections are appropriate and popular for bicycle use. Because of narrow shoulders, caution is required on the sections through Pyles Canyon, south of Union on OR Hwy. 237, and along Catherine Creek on OR Hwy. 203.

Before you begin your drive, please be sure you carry drinking water and have adequate fuel in your vehicle to travel at least fifty miles. The route is ninety-five miles long, with opportunities for fuel and food at La Grande, Union, and Cove. In addition, there is a small store in Medical Springs. Figure two to four hours to enjoy the route, depending on stops.

TOUR ROUTE HIGHLIGHTS

GRANDE TOUR ROUTE HIGHLIGHTS:
Used by Native Americans as summer pasture for their horses and a place for gathering winter stores of berries and camas root, the Grande Ronde Valley was first seen by people of European descent when the Wilson Price Hunt Expedition passed through in the winter of 1811-12. Beginning in 1843, emigrants passed this way during the great migration on the Oregon Trail.
Following are some of the places where you might want to stop along the route.
Birnie Park is in the oldest section of La Grande. The site of this park was a camping place for wagons traveling on the Oregon Trail. Ceramic pillars commemorate the pioneers who gathered and rested here before attempting the steep climb across the Blue Mountains, often called the most difficult part of the two-thousand mile journey west to the Willamette Valley.
Foothill Drive is where some of the earliest Grande Ronde Valley settlers established farms in the shadow of the Blues, beginning in the early 1860s. Historic barns and farm homes hug the sides of the winding road.
Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area provides excellent opportunity for people to enjoy wildlife viewing, bird watching and duck hunting. The wildlife area has a nature hike through the marsh, photography blinds, and a view point.
Hot Lake Resort always attracts the attention of passers by. This huge old brick building is but a fraction of a once sprawling complex, alive with hundreds of visitors who came from around the world to take the waters and renew their health. The spa/resort/hospital was also known as the Mayo Clinic of the West, as the famous Mayo Brothers were visitors and friends of Dr. Phy, the administrator. The resort was in its heyday from 1908 through 1932. A complete history of this fascinating place is available for purchase at the visitor center.
Hot Lake is currently under-going a renovation. Check before entering to make sure tours are still available.Hot Lake website
Union is a Victorian era town that offers a step back in time. In 1862, Conrad Miller settled in the area and planted apple and pear trees and began one of the first nurseries in the Grande Ronde Valley. Other settlers soon followed and a town was established. Many of the early settlers around Union engaged in the freighting business, yoking their oxen into teams of six and carrying merchandise from The Dalles or Umatilla to the mines around Auburn in Baker County. Victorian homes and charming brick buildings still line the main street through town. The Main Street commercial area recently acquired National Historic District status. The city is working with local businesses to restore downtown buildings.
Historic Union Hotel was built in 1923. The hotel saw several years of hard times before it was recently purchased and renovated. Each charming room has a theme of decoration and the parlor is a wonderful place in which to curl up with a good mystery novel.

The Historic Union Hotel / website

Union Library is a noteworthy structure in downtown Union, built in 1912, with a $5,000 matching fund from the Carnegie Foundation. It still serves as a library for the residents of Union. Oregon State University Agriculture Experiment Station was built in 1901 and was the first in the state to be developed and operated by Oregon Agricultural College. The site was once the farm of Charles Elliott Davis, a prominent Union County agriculturalist and miller who went on to become governor. The building is listed in the State Registry of Historic Buildings. Area research continues at the site. Turn right onto Arch Street than left on 10th to get to the station headquarters.
Union County Museum is housed in a historic brick building. The museum recently acquired the "Cowboys Then & Now" exhibit, formerly located in Portland. This fascinating collection of Cowboy artifacts and memorabilia traces the history of cowboys and cattle in America. A new outdoor agriculture and forestry exhibit is being installed, with completion planned over the next two to three years.
Buffalo Peak Championship Golf Course is a new 18-hole, links style golf course. The course has earned a reputation for challenging play and wonderful scenery.
Pyle’s Canyon was an alternate route around the mountain pass for pioneers on the Oregon Trail. This important route for travel to and from the east was a toll road constructed through the bottom of the canyon in 1864 by J. M. Pyle. Mr. Pyle was an early member of the state legislature and the first Senator from Union County. After he died, the county tried to purchase the road. They were unable to agree on terms with the Pyle estate so they built another road above it. After the new road was completed, the Pyle estate agreed to sell the toll road and the new road was abandoned, returning traffic to the old road.
Telocaset was pronounced by the Nez Perce Indians as Taulekarset , meaning on the top. It marks the crest on the railroad grade between the Grande Ronde and Powder River Valleys.
Thief Valley was named after John Wetherly, who was accused of stealing four mules from an emigrant at Boise and subsequently hanged there by vigilantes in December of 1864. The Thief Valley Reservoir, formed by a dam on the Powder River, is a popular place to windsurf or fish.
Medical Springs was established around 1868 by Dunham Wright, a cousin to Abraham Lincoln and an early state politician. Medical Springs became a popular hotel and hot springs resort in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Medical Springs Store is well worth a visit.
Catherine Creek State Park is a beautiful place to picnic, hike, or camp. Trails into the Eagle Cap Wilderness are nearby.
Ascension Chapel is the highlight of Cove, a tiny town nestled at the base of Mount Fanny. Built in 1869, the picturesque Episcopal church has been visited by such esteemed guests as Desmond Tutu and the former Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop, Edmond Browning. The stained glass window was brought by ship around the horn. Click for picture of the Church
Historic Forest Cove Warm Springs Swimming Pool is a spot where, long before the beginning of migration on the Oregon Trail, mountain men wintered around the mineral spring that now feeds the pool. The pool is open daily from May to Labor Day.
Gilstrap Brothers Winery on Antles Lane at Cove is Eastern Oregon’s only winery. See the wine process from grape vine to bottle. Beautiful hillside setting. Call 541-568-4646 for hours www.gilstrapbrothers.com
Ackles Cemetery, on Mt. Glen Rd., was established in 1866. It has the graves of some of the Grande Ronde Valley’s earliest settlers. Historic Ackles Cemetery in the Grande Ronde Valley