Civilized wilderness
by Penguinlady - Written: Aug 26 '08
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Pros: Beautiful area, nice amenities
Cons: A long drive from anywhere
The Bottom Line: Is it a State Park or a State Rec Area? No one knows, but whatever it is, it's beautiful.
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| Penguinlady's Full Review: Wallowa Lake State Park |
My family is infected with the travel bug, and no one has it worse than my sister. Given the choice between being home and being anywhere else, she’ll always opt for the latter. Nepal, Indonesia, Estonia, India... she’s been there.
So it wasn’t very surprising that, when her daughters asked her where she wanted to celebrate a Big Birthday, she picked somewhere other than home. Specifically, she wanted to go to Wallowa Lake State Park. So that’s where we all went.
Note: While Epinions shows this as a State Park, the State of Oregon calls it a State Recreation Area.
LOCATION
Wallowa Lake State Park is located in far northeastern Oregon, not far from the Idaho and Washington state lines. To get there, turn off Interstate 84 at LaGrande and head east on Rt. 82 about 70 miles. You’ll go through the towns of Imbler, Elgin, Minam, Wallowa, and Enterprise before you get to picturesque Joseph. Continue another mile to the north end of Wallowa Lake and follow the road down the east shore of the lake. The State Park is at the narrow south end.
From Portland, traveling east on I-84, it takes five or six hours.
FEATURES
The park itself isn’t that huge. It’s centered on a beautiful campground located at the south end of Wallowa Lake. It includes recreational facilities and a range of 9,000' mountains. It's also the jumping-off point for Hell's Canyon, home of the deepest gorge in the US.
The Lake
The lake is a mile wide and about five miles long, and runs north-south. It’s almost a perfect rectangle, albeit one with a rounded north end, which tips slightly to the west. Because it’s so regular in shape, the shoreline is almost straight; no inlets or coves here. We noticed some platforms that appeared to be about 15'x15' anchored at intervals along the eastern shore of the lake; people had boated up to them and established umbrellas and chairs for a day of water play.
The road only goes from Joseph down the eastern shore of the lake and across the narrow south end. Then it ends. There are houses on the western shore of the lake, but we never did figure out how to get there; contrary to our expectations, the road doesn’t run all the way around the lake.
The western and southern shores of the lake are bordered by beautiful green mountains, truly alpine in appearance. The eastern shore is a huge glacial berm, absolutely desolate and treeless. The northern end is fairly open and leads to the dry plains of eastern Oregon. The lake is glacial, and its geological history is plainly evident to anyone who knows how to read the terrain.
The Campground
The best thing about the campground is that it’s on the south end of the lake. As buried in the mountains as you may feel here, this is a fully civilized campground, with showers and flush toilets. There are 121 sites with hook-ups for RVs up to 36' long; 89 tent sites; two yurts; one deluxe cabin that sleeps eight; paved parking, fire rings, and picnic tables at each site; a group site for tenters; an RV dump station; and laundry facilities. In addition, at least two sites are accessible to disabled campers. Depending on the season, RV sites run $17 to $21 per night. Tent sites go from $13 to $17. Surprisingly, the campground is open all year; one of the shower buildings is heated in the winter. That’s my kind of roughing it!
Day Use
There are two day-use areas. One is right on the lake shore, between the lake and the campground. It’s a beautiful grassy area, dotted with trees, that covers several acres. It has numerous picnic tables and BBQs, but no fire rings. It’s bisected by the east and west forks of the Wallowa river, which at that point are rushing creeks. The local deer are very bold and fearless and will eat out of your hand if you’re stupid enough to feed them. I pulled up some grass and held it out to a curious buck, who sniffed at it and turned away in disdain, I guess he was looking for a Hostess Twinkie. Kids love to pet them; we figure the deer are on the payroll of the local Chamber of Commerce.
Marina
Just west of the day-use area is a small marina where you can rent pedal boats, rowboats, and jet-skis. There’s also a launch ramp for people who bring their own boats. You can also get a limited number of supplies at the marina store. We rented pedal boats for $15 an hour, which includes the boat and life vests for everyone.
Wallowa Lake Village
Technically, the village isn’t in the State Park, but everything here is walkable, so I’m including it. It’s advertised as being alpine in nature, and that’s probably true, given its location among the towering evergreens. There’s a video arcade with a small bumper-boat pond for the kids; a couple of casual restaurants; two resorts, the Wallowa Lake Resort and
Wallowa Lake Lodge; and the usual assortment of T-shirt and souvenir shops.
Gondola
The best thing about the village is the gondolas. A short walk up the road, maybe 1/3 of a mile, brings you to the bottom station. The tram cost $22 per adult, but it took us from the village to the top of 8,200' Mt. Howard in about 15 or 20 minutes. From there, there are several walks, some just a fraction of a mile in length to several miles, from an easy stroll to a more strenuous hike. If you’re not inclined to exert yourself, you can hang out at the outdoor cafe with a beer. This is also a great place for photographers; the mountains are spectacular from here, and you can see the Eagle Gap Wilderness, a haven for serious hikers and back-packers. The tram also allows gorgeous views of the mountains bisected by streams and animal pathways, but unfortunately, the windows don’t open.
SUMMARY AND VERDICT
Whether State Park or Recreation Area, Wallowa is a beautiful place, well worth the 12-hour drive to get there from our home in California. As I mentioned in my review of the Wallowa Lake Lodge (link above,) this is a gorgeous place to relax and enjoy clean, crisp air and beautiful views. There’s no internet or cell-phone reception here, which makes it even nicer. The campground had us salivating, and we loved pedaling around the lake. The kids enjoyed the bumper-boats and the deer, and we all came down off the top of Mt. Howard with gorgeous photographs and a new appreciation of the fragility of plant life at 8,200'. And if you want a little more civilization, Joseph is a cute town to poke around in.
Five stars.
Recommended:
Yes
Recommended for: Anybody
Review Topic: Overview
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