{"id":224,"date":"2020-10-31T21:27:47","date_gmt":"2020-10-31T21:27:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/dlscott\/?page_id=224"},"modified":"2020-11-11T19:37:39","modified_gmt":"2020-11-11T19:37:39","slug":"oregon","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/dlscott\/oregon\/","title":{"rendered":"Oregon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Oregon Trail in Oregon:
Following the mighty Columbia<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

 <\/strong>The Oregon Trail enters its namesake state northwest of Boise and threads its way through the northeastern corner of present-day Oregon. Here pioneers left the Snake River to head northwest to the mighty Columbia River that flows west to the Pacific. Prior to arriving at the Columbia the pioneers crossed the Blue Mountains, a source of elation for many of the emigrants who had endured many weeks and hundreds of miles of desert heat and parched land. Today\u2019s travelers entering the Blue Mountains are quite likely to experience a feeling similar to that of the pioneers. At least we certainly did. Terrain surrounding the trail in Oregon provides a pleasant change from the plains of Nebraska, and the deserts of Wyoming and Idaho. Mountains and greenery became the norm as the emigrants rolled northwest toward the Columbia and then west to the Willamette Valley of Oregon Territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Barlow<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Baker City, site of a marvelous interpretive center devoted to the\u00a0Oregon Trail, is itself an interesting place to spend part of a day. Once the largest town in\u00a0Oregon,\u00a0Baker City\u00a0served as a supply center both for gold miners and travelers on the\u00a0Oregon Trail. Leaving\u00a0Baker City\u00a0and driving northwest through the\u00a0Blue Mountains\u00a0toward the Columbia River offers excellent scenery in addition to relief from the summer heat. The\u00a0Columbia\u00a0River is simply magnificent and one can only wonder how glorious it must have been prior to the construction of a series of dams. Rather than head directly to the Columbia we decided to detour from\u00a0Pendleton, Oregon to\u00a0Walla Walla,\u00a0Washington, site of Whitman Mission National Historic Site. The mission served as a stop for many of the trail\u2019s early immigrants before missionary Marcus Whitman and his wife were killed in 1847 by Indians. Traveling either side of this magnificent river offers some of the most scenic driving in the\u00a0United States. At\u00a0The Dalles, many pioneers chose to loop south away from the river and head west through the mountains to\u00a0Oregon City. The southern route along the\u00a0Barlow Road\u00a0had its own issues for the pioneers but was generally considered less dangerous than the water route on the untamed\u00a0Columbia. This is the route we took, in part because of a planned return along the river when we headed back east following the Lewis & Clark Trail along the Columbia River. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mount Hood<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The stunning view of snow-covered\u00a0Mount Hood\u00a0and a potential side trip to Timberline Lodge make the Barlow Road route a worthwhile choice. After approximately three weeks of driving from\u00a0Independence, we pulled into\u00a0Oregon City,\u00a0Oregon, the trail’s terminus. Here we visited the\u00a0Interpretive Center\u00a0at the End of the Trail. Interesting\u00a0Oregon\u00a0sites along the Oregon Trail include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One of the many displays in the National Oregon Trail Interpretive Center<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

1) National Oregon Trail Interpretive Center<\/strong> -Located nine miles east of Baker City, the Bureau of Land Management offers a marvelous facility dedicated to the Oregon Trail. It includes exhibits, videos, living history programs and a path to trail ruts. Allot sufficient time for your visit that can easily consume several hours. We stayed most of a day. Wagon ruts are visible at the bottom of the hill on the road from Baker City.  The hill on which the center is located offers a magnificent view of the surrounding landscape including the path of the Oregon Trail. View our video of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center<\/a>.

2) Oregon Trail Interpretive Park at Blue Mountain Crossing<\/strong> – Visitors can walk along a paved path beside ruts of the trail.  This is an excellent stop that is lightly visited and the ruts from the wagons are in excellent shape.  Interpretive signs are along the path.  Restrooms are available.  Take Exit 284 off I-84 northwest of the town of La Grande.  View our video of this site.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Oregon Trail runs beside the park of the Whitman Mission<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3) Whitman Mission (Washington)<\/strong> – Marcus Whitman and wife, Narcissa, established a mission at this location in 1836. The mission, now operated as a national historic site by the National Park Service, includes the original mission site, a visitor center with a small museum, and the graves where the Whitmans are buried. The mission was a stop for early pioneers headed for Oregon City. View our Video of Whitman Mission.
<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ruts can still be seen at Echo Meadows<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

4) Echo Meadows<\/strong> – Excellent mile-long Oregon Trail ruts are visible on Bureau of Land Management property about 5 1\/2 miles west of Echo,\u00a0Oregon. Echo is a small town off Interstate 84, twenty-three miles west of Pendleton. Access to the ruts is via a short gravel road that intersects Highway 320. BLM provides a half-mile paved walking trail (with occasional benches for today’s exhausted pioneers) leading to the ruts. This is a relaxing stop at which you are likely to encounter few visitors.\u00a0\u00a0View our video of Oregon Trail ruts near Echo<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Deschutes Ruts lead to the Columbia River<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

5) Deschutes Ruts<\/strong> – Near where the Deschutes River empties into the Columbia is a wonderful set of Oregon Trail ruts descending toward the river. The ruts are easily accessible from U.S. Highway 30 that parallels the south bank of Columbia River. Park beside the road and walk the ruts to the top of the hillside for a superb view of the Columbia River Valley. View our video of the Oregon Trail as it descends to the Columbia River<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Toll gate on the Barlow Road<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

6) Barlow Road<\/strong> – Opening of the Barlow Road in 1846 allowed pioneers to skirt south and loop around Mount Hood while they avoided the need to build or rent rafts that would allow them to float down the dangerous Columbia River. The road heads south, away from the river at The Dalles, and winds through some delightful country on the trail\u2019s final stretch to Oregon City. The route was pioneered by Kentuckian Sam Barlow who charged tolls that enraged the emigrants. Taking this route offers a magnificent view of Mount Hood and access to iconic Timberline Lodge. View our video of the Barlow Road summit<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chief Factor’s House in Fort Vancouver<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

7) Fort Vancouver<\/strong> \u2013 An important British fur-trading post of the Hudson\u2019s Bay Company assisted American emigrants who arrived in the Pacific Northwest. The fort has been reconstructed by the National Park Service and visitors can enjoy tours of the grounds and buildings. A visitor center sits on a hill overlooking the fort. A nominal admission fee is charged. The fort is located on the north side of the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington. View our video of Fort Vancouver National Historic Site<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Oregon Trail in Oregon:Following the mighty Columbia  The Oregon Trail enters its namesake state northwest of Boise and threads its way through the northeastern corner of present-day Oregon. Here pioneers left the Snake River to head northwest to the mighty Columbia River that … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":599,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-224","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/dlscott\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/dlscott\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/dlscott\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/dlscott\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/599"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/dlscott\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/dlscott\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":761,"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/dlscott\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/224\/revisions\/761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.valdosta.edu\/dlscott\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}