This 106-mile loop takes you through the Elkhorn Mountains and along the elegant Anthony and Grande Ronde Lakes. Learn about the history of this area from sites ranging from the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Baker City to the gold-mining ghost town of Granite.
To get a taste of the history the byway offers, start your trip at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center and its living history demonstrations. As leather and canvas creaks, wagon wheels turn and voices speak in the background, this center can make you feel as if you were on the trail with the early pioneers. Walk around the streets of Baker City and take note of the elegant homes, sixty of which have been restored to their former beauty. Taking pride in its place on the National Register of Historic Places, Baker City is continually restoring these old buildings and every trip you make back to this city should yield a surprise. While you're in the city, make sure to stop by the Oregon Trail Regional Museum with its focus on natural history.
Many of the other towns along the byway have their own historical significance. A stop in Sumpter treats you to antique shops, a chance to pan for gold and a trip on an old railroad that dates back to the late 1800s. Once a mining town, Granite now only houses about 80 permanent residents, but a host of buildings that date back to when it was a booming mining town. When you visit Haines, founded in 1885, notice the street signs are wooden slats and marked with stenciled paint. The remains of this original town are still in good condition, including a two story house that is no bigger than a walk in closet, and an old saloon. Also in Haines is "Grandma's Attic", the Eastern Oregon Museum, which has over 10,000 household, farming, mining and pioneer artifacts.
Full of history and preserving the Old West atmosphere, the Elkhorn Scenic Byway provides a memorable experience.
