We Overlanded Hells Canyon: Highest Point to Lowest Point
We started this trip tired.
Our previous trip through the Owyhee had pushed us about as far as we wanted to be pushed. By the time we left, we weren't looking for another challenge. We wanted something fun. Something scenic.
Hells Canyon seemed like the perfect answer.
The route had been on our list for a while because it does something pretty unique. It starts high in Oregon's Wallowa Mountains and eventually drops all the way down to the Snake River at the bottom of Hells Canyon, the deepest river gorge in North America. Highest point to lowest point. It felt like a fitting way to reset after a tough stretch of travel.
Most people visit Hells Canyon by driving to the overlook, taking in the view, and heading home. There's nothing wrong with that, but we wanted to see more than just the rim.
Almost immediately, we found ourselves surrounded by dense forest. The trees were so thick in places that Starlink couldn't get a signal. We made our way to Red Hill Lookout, one of the stops we had planned before the trip. The wildflowers were in full bloom, and from the top of the tower you could see in every direction.
One of the things we've learned over the last year is not to get too attached to a specific campsite. National Forest land gives you options. We started exploring side roads and before long found a dispersed site sitting in the middle of a field of wildflowers with nobody else around. It ended up being far better than the campground we originally planned on.
A lot of this route felt that way.
One of our stops was Zumwalt Prairie, the largest bunchgrass prairie in North America. We were a little early for peak wildflower season, and because dogs aren't allowed on many of the trails we didn't spend a ton of time there, but we're still glad we made the stop. The only real obstacle of the trip came later when a trail narrowed more than we expected and we spent longer than we'd like to admit trying to convince a low hanging branch to move. It wasn't interested.
Not long after that, we unexpectedly popped out onto pavement. By then the day was getting late, and instead of pushing farther into the backcountry, we took the highway to camp.
The next morning we unloaded the bikes and headed out for a ride. Everything was going according to plan until we heard something moving through the woods.Something big. We never saw it. We only heard it moving quickly through the trees. Jacob was convinced it was an elk. I was less convinced and preferred not to find out. We turned around, made plenty of noise on the ride back, and called it good.
The actual Hells Canyon overlook surprised us. For some reason, I expected something closer to the Grand Canyon. Instead, the landscape is much greener and softer. Forested slopes roll down toward a river you can't even see from the rim. Finally, we dropped from the rim all the way to the Snake River and found a campsite right along the water. Highest point to lowest point.
You can watch the full route and all the highlights in the video below: