AT A GLANCE
Why go?
Wallowa Lake Trailhead sits at the southern end of long, fjord-like Wallowa Lake, where State Highway 82 runs out of road and the Wallowa Mountains close in. In a single afternoon you can wander a tumbling waterfall, while the same parking area serves as the main local gateway into Oregon's largest designated wilderness, the Eagle Cap.↗↗↗
The trailhead at 4,675 feet feeds three signature routes — the Chief Joseph Mountain Trail, the East Fork Wallowa Trail and the West Fork Wallowa Trail — that thread up craggy valleys past glacial lakes, meadows full of summer wildflowers and granite spires. It is one of the most rewarding day-hike and backpacking bases in Eastern Oregon, and the town of Joseph, with its galleries, cafes and lake views, is just seven miles away.↗↗↗
Gateway to the Eagle Cap Wilderness
The Wallowa Lake Trailhead is the most convenient on-ramp to the Eagle Cap Wilderness, Oregon's largest stretch of protected backcountry — more than 355,000 acres set aside by Congress in 1964. From here the trail network climbs into a range the early settlers nicknamed the "Little Alps" for its sheer, glacially carved walls and high country dotted with lakes. Whether you hike, trail-run, ride a horse or shoulder a pack for a multi-day loop, this is the starting line.
