9 Best Sights in Eastern Oregon, Oregon

At more than 360,000 acres, this is the largest wilderness area in Oregon, encompassing most of the Wallowa range with 535 miles of trails for hardcore backpackers and horseback riders. Most of the popular trailheads are along Eagle Cap's northern edge, accessible from Enterprise or Joseph, but you also can find several trailheads 20 to 30 miles southeast of La Grande along Route 203. Some areas of the wilderness are accessible year-round, while the high-elevation areas are accessible only for a few months in summer. To hike into the wilderness, you also need to obtain a free permit that will alert rangers of your plans.

This ramshackle building operated by the state park system was a trading post on The Dalles Military Road in 1866 and 1867, then later served as a general store, a Chinese labor exchange for the area's mines, a doctor's shop, and an opium den. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the museum is an extraordinary testament to the early Chinese community in Oregon. Tours are on the hour with groups limited to eight people; if you miss it, you can always catch a 5- or 30-minute video at the interpretive center across the street.

This 90-minute tour transports you belowground and back through Pendleton's history of gambling, girls, and gold. The Underground Tours depict town life from more than a century ago (when 32 saloons and 18 brothels were operating in full swing) to the 1953 closure of the Cozy Rooms, the best-known bordello in town. The Underground Tour eventually resurfaces, climbing the "31 Steps to Heaven" to those Cozy Rooms where madam Stella Darby reigned. The secret gambling lairs, opium dens, and bathhouses that lie directly below the pavement will give you a whole new perspective of the streets of Pendleton. Reservations are required.

Pendleton's most significant source of name recognition in the country comes from this mill, home of the trademark wool plaid shirts and colorful woolen Indian blankets. This location is the company's blanket mill; there's also a weaving mill in the Columbia Gorge town of Washougal, Washington, near Portland and about three hours west of Pendleton. If you want to know more about the production process, the company gives 20-minute tours on weekdays at 11 am and 3 pm; reservations are suggested. The mill's retail store stocks blankets, towels, and clothing with good bargains on factory seconds in the back room.

Located at the Wildhorse Resort and Casino, this impressive 45,000-square-foot interpretive center depicts history from the perspective of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla tribes (Tamástslikt means "interpret" in the Walla Walla native language). An art gallery showcases the work of local and regional tribal artists, and on Saturday in summer you can visit the adjacent Living Culture Village, Naami Nishaycht, and watch a variety of talks and demonstrations on everything from tepee building to traditional community games. There's also a museum gift shop, a theater showing a short film about the tribe's heritage, and a café.

This impressive gallery displays sculptures by the many artists who cast their work at the nearby foundry, plus quite a few international pieces. The foundry itself is a half mile away at 307 W. Alder St. Foundry tours are available weekdays by reservation.

On the south shore of beautiful Wallowa Lake, just a 10-minute drive south of downtown Joseph, this alpine park with a highly popular campground is surrounded on three sides by 9,000-foot-tall snowcapped mountains. Popular activities include fishing and powerboating on the lake, plus hiking wilderness trails, horseback riding, and canoeing. Nearby are a marina, bumper boats, miniature golf, and the tramway to the top of Mt. Howard.

This is a relatively easy way to take in the natural splendor of the Eagle Cap Wilderness and reach Baker City without backtracking to La Grande. The loop is a segment of the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway, which continues for a three-and-a-half hour trip from Joseph to Baker City. It winds through the national forest and part of Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, passing over forested mountains, creeks, and rivers. Before you travel the byway, check with the Forest Service about road conditions; the route can be impassable when snowed over. From Joseph, take Highway 350 east for 8 miles, turn south onto Forest Service Road 39, and continue until it meets Highway 86, which winds past the town of Halfway and then continues to Baker City.

Forming a rugged U-shaped fortress between Hells Canyon on the Idaho border and the Blue Mountains, the Wallowas are sometimes called the Alps of Oregon or Little Switzerland. The granite peaks in this range are between 5,000 and 9,000 feet in height. Dotted with crystalline alpine lakes and meadows, rushing rivers, and thickly forested valleys that fall between the mountain ridges, the Wallowas have a grandeur that can take your breath away. Bighorn sheep, elk, deer, and mountain goats populate the area. Nearly all the trails in the Wallowa Mountains are at least partially contained within the Eagle Cap Wilderness. The offices and visitor center for the mountains are in Joseph at the Wallowa Mountains ranger office of Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, but you can access different parts of the range from different towns in the region, including Enterprise, La Grande, and Baker City.