While Hells Canyon Scenic Byway attracts adventure seekers to its vast and diverse outdoor regions, it also provides a wealth of opportunities for the history fanatic. Explore tiny hundred-year-old churches, historic districts, Native American culture and more, as you travel eastern Oregon's gorgeous mountain settings.
The known story of human occupation in the area begins with Native American populations. The Snake River corridor once served as a meeting place for the Umatilla, Yakima, Shoshone, Cayuse, and Bannock nations. Along the drive, keep your eyes open for rock art, including pictographs and petroglyphs, and the remains of pithouse villages all along the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway. In the town of Joseph, named for the Nez Perce tribe's Chief, visit museums for Indian artifacts. Wallowa features an annual Tamkaliks Celebration each July. The three-day festival includes songs, dances, and traditional food and finishes up with a sampling of salmon, elk, deer, and more at the Friendship Feast.
During the western gold rush, enterprising folks braved the wilderness in search of riches, providing a market for farmers, ranchers, and merchants who then settled the region. In the Union County Museum near La Grande, you'll experience a taste of the untamed frontier at the Cowboys Then and Now Collection, and learn about the realities and myths of a cowboy's life.
Despite the region's rough-and-tumble cowboy heritage, nineteenth- and early twentieth-century life wasn't all gunfights and saloons. Small, century-old churches still stand as a testament to the faith of early settlers carving out new lives in a rough place. Tour Baker City Episcopal Church, the 1876 church designed by a boat maker and based on an upside-down ship. The recently renovated Baker City Catholic Cathedral, finished in 1906 and hand-carved from volcanic tuff, was built in the style of ancient European cathedrals with a restored altar, vestibule and murals. Cove's Ascension Chapel hearkens back to 1869 and features a guided tour, with in-depth information about the tiny chapel's history.
Other opportunities abound along Hells Canyon Scenic Byway for you to experience the lifestyles of the variety of people and cultures that shaped the Snake River Basin. Take the kids to the Eastern Oregon Fire Museum in downtown La Grande, for example, and let them climb and play on six antique fire trucks. For an extra adventure, schedule a ride on one of two lovingly restored vintage fire trucks. Stop in at Elgin's Opera House and Museum and marvel at the pitch-perfect acoustics in the 1912 edifice. Set up your tour ahead of time for a backstage look. For an overall perspective of the region's history, visit the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Baker City.
Hells Canyon Scenic Byway stretches through history spanning centuries. From early Native American settlements to the rough-and-tumble gold rush culture to modern firefighting, the byway gives a glimpse of the growth of the American West.
