Blue mountains trail
The Blue Mountains Trail is an immersive adventure through the diverse interconnected eco-regions that comprise the Greater Hells Canyon Region. The trail will take you deep into the mountains, forests, rivers, ecosystems, and communities of northeast Oregon. It shares the living history of why the Blue Mountains are ecologically unique and more parts of it deserve permanent protection.
trail stats
530 miles through northeast Oregon from Wallowa Lake State Park near Joseph to John Day
7 Wilderness Areas and 1 National Recreation Area in 3 National Forests
Ancestral lands of the Nez Perce, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla, and Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
3 Oregon State Parks
Connects with the communities of Joseph, Troy, Tollgate, La Grande, Sumpter, Austin Junction and John Day, with connection opportunities to more nearby towns
Trail connects approaches to notable Blue Mountain summits: Eagle Cap (Wallowas): 9,573 ft - Rock Creek Butte (Elkhorns): 9,106 ft - Strawberry Mountain: 9,038 ft - Vinegar Hill (Greenhorns) 8,131 ft.
It’s official! In 2021, Greater Hells Canyon Council launched Oregon’s newest long-distance trail – forming a 530-mile spiral. Contemplated, mapped, and dreamed of for more than half a century by conservationists, the trail is now tangible.
The route links all seven of Northeast Oregon’s wilderness areas, requires no new trails to be built, limits road walks and bushwhacks, and connects hikers to the communities of Joseph, Troy, Tollgate, La Grande, Sumpter, Austin Junction, and John Day with ties to more nearby towns.
The pace of the past year’s work is as breathtaking as the speed of the first four thru-hikers covering rough terrain, bushwhacking alternative paths, and reporting on conditions. News of the trail’s brilliant peaks, rivers, forests, and wildlife is rippling among long distance hikers, tourism groups, communities, businesses, and conservationists.
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Photo gallery
Planning your hike
We've put together some wonderful resources to help you plan to do a day hike, section hike, or do the full thru-hike of the trail. Much of the trail is ready to hike starting once the snows melt by the middle of July. If you enjoy hiking through snow on challenging terrain, you can start earlier in the season. Trail conditions vary from well maintained wilderness trails, to areas with overgrown brush, downed trees, and even a few bushwhacks. The following resource pages will help you prepare for whatever length of hike you are planning, and we are also happy to answer questions as you plan your trip.
Get Involved
Launching the Blue Mountains Trail has been a largely volunteer effort to date, from setting the route, creating the hikers maps and databook, and the especially the work on the trail to groundtruth the route and start our trail maintenance efforts.