Places to Go: Campgrounds, Lodging and Parks

Biggs & Rufus Windsurfers are especially challenged by the Columbia River’s unique wind and water conditions near Biggs and Rufus on I-84.

The Columbia River forms the north boundary of Sherman County.

The Columbia River Basin is North America's fourth largest, draining about 250,000 square miles and extending throughout the Pacific Northwest and into Canada. There are over 250 reservoirs and around 150 hydroelectric projects in the basin, including 18 mainstem dams on the Columbia and its main tributary, the Snake River.

The US Army Corps of Engineers operates nine of ten major federal projects on the Columbia and Snake rivers, and Dworshak Dam on the Clearwater River, Libby Dam on the Kootenai River, and Albeni Falls Dam on the Pend Oreille River. The federal projects are a major source of power in the region, and provide flood control, navigation, recreation, fish and wildlife, municipal and industrial water supply, and irrigation benefits.

The Columbia River Basin provides habitat for five species of anadromous salmon (chinook, coho, chum, sockeye and pink), steelhead, shad, smelt and lamprey. Anadromous salmon hatch in fresh water rivers and tributaries where they rear for a year or two. They then migrate to and mature in the ocean, and return to their place of origin as adults to spawn. Salmon live two to five years in the ocean before returning to spawning areas.

http://www.ccrh.org/ 

http://www.nwd.usace.army.mil/ps/colrvbsn.htm

Cottonwood on the East Bank of the John Day River on Highway 206 East of Wasco is the site of a Bureau of Land Management boat launch site with public toilets at J.S. Burres State Park. A wild and scenic river, the John Day runs through Grant, Umatilla, Jefferson, Wheeler, Sherman, Wasco and Gilliam counties before reaching the Columbia River East of Rufus. Visitors enjoy the solitude, wildlife, scenery, history, camping, swimming and fishing.  http://www.or.blm.gov/prineville/JohnDay/boating_regs.htm 

DeMoss Springs Memorial Park marks the location of the traveling musical DeMoss family’s 1880 town site. The park, once a hamlet with street names of poets and composers, is north of Moro on Highway 97. Facilities include picnic tables and portable toilets.

The Deschutes appears as Clark's River on the Lewis & Clark map. Towarnahiooks is a Chinook term.  The French Canadian fur traders called it Riviere des Chutes," French for "river of the falls."

"October 22d [1805]. We left our camp ... and after going on for some six miles came to the head of an island [Miller Island] and a very bad [Hellgate] rapid ... Just above this and on the right are six huts of Indians ... two miles below are five more huts; the inhabitants of which are engaged in drying fish ... and some are in their canoes killing fish with gigs ... The island continues for four miles, and at the middle of it is a large river, which appears to come from the southeast, and empties on the left. We landed just above its mouth in order to examine it ... the natives had been digging large quantities of roots ... This river, which is called by the Indians Towahnihiooks, is 200 yards wide at its mouth, has a very rapid current ... about one-fourth as much water as the Columbia before the junction ... " ---History of the Expedition under the command of Lewis and Clark, edited by Elliott Coues.

Dolph's Rock Shop & Museum  - Rufus-Biggs Highway 30   Call 541-739-2816

Gordon Ridge, west of Moro and Wasco, offers a spectacular vista of checkerboard fields North and South, with the purple Goodnoe Hills and Mt. Adams across the Columbia River to the North; and to the West, the Deschutes River rushing below steep canyon walls, with Mt. Hood in the distance.

The John Day Dam near Rufus on the Columbia River provides fish viewing facilities. Giles French Park is located downstream from the dam.

John Day River is accessible at its confluence with the Columbia River East of Rufus on I-84. Facilities include a boat ramp, dock, swim area, picnic tables and restrooms.

"Monday, October 21st, 1805 ... On the left side of the [Columbia] river at this place are immense piles of rocks, which seem to have slipped from the cliffs under which they lie; they continue till, spreading still further into the river, at the distance of a mile from the island they occasion a very dangerous rapid [Squally Hook]; a little below ... on the right side are five huts. For many miles the river is now narrow ... the hills continue high ... a small river, which seems to rise in the open plains to the southeast and falls in on the left. It is 40 yards wide at its mouth, but discharges only a small quantity of water at present. We gave it the name of Lepage's river, from [Baptiste] Lepage, one of our company. Near this little river and ... below it, we had to encounter a new rapid... At the end of this rapid are four huts of Indians on the right, and two miles below five more huts on the same side. Here we landed and passed the night, after making 33 miles." ---History of the Expedition under the command of Lewis and Clark, edited by Elliott Coues.

John Day River at Cottonwood Bridge on Highway 206 East of Wasco.

Journey Through Time Scenic Byway, anchored at Maryhill Museum of Art and Maryhill State Park on the north, follows Highway 97 from Biggs south to Shaniko, then easterly to Antelope, John Day and Baker City. Map, descriptions and directions on these web sites.                                                                        

http://www.ohwy.com/or/j/jourthti.htm

http://www.tripcheck.com/General/Journey.htm 

This eclectic tour celebrates 50 million years of Oregon history, through an area where fossils lie abundant on the landscape and the Old West happened just yesterday. Follow the tracks of early settlers. See the ghostly remnants of gold rush boom towns, and witness the earth's geological history unfold where volcanic forces shaped the land.

Klondike Wind Farm - East of Wasco.

Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery - The Columbia River

Starting in 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led the famous Corps of Discovery expedition from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean and back, a journey that lasted two years. Since their instructions came from Thomas Jefferson in 1803, the Lewis and Clark bicentennial runs from 2003 through 2006.

http://lewisandclarktrail.com/index.html

http://www.wshs.org/lewisandclark/index.htm

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/JOURNALS/toc.html

Locust Grove Church on Highway 206  West of Wasco.
Please note that this is PRIVATE PROPERTY.

Maryhill Museum of Art, Maryhill State Park & Peach Beach, Maryhill, WA - wind surfing, boating, RV & tent camping across the Columbia River from Biggs. www.maryhillmuseum.org

Mid Columbia Producers' Cooperative grain storage and shipping facilities at Biggs, rail and barge. http://www.mcpcoop.com/

Oregon Trail - Monument West of Biggs on Highway 30 (sign & monument)

Oregon Trail interpretive kiosk at Deschutes State Park on Highway 30.

Oregon Trail - Hiking trail West of Biggs on Highway 30 (two signs carved in simple wooden posts).

Oregon Trail - Oregon Trail Crossing at McDonald on the John Day River East of Wasco, interpretive kiosk and Sherman County Historical Society monument (follow signs East from Wasco).

Oregon Trail. Cut-off to the Barlow Road begins at the John Day River Oregon Trail Crossing East of Wasco and Southeasterly to Grass Valley (follow signs) and to Hollenbeck Point where emigrants entered Buck Hollow and the Deschutes River Crossing north of present-day Sherar's Bridge. http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/oregontrails/barlowcutoff.html  

Sherman County’s Courthouse, built in 1899, originally with a handsome cupola, overlooks the town of Moro. 

The national-award-winning Sherman County Historical Museum in Moro offers visitors first-rate unique interpretive exhibits, hands-on activities, tours and educational programs.

Sherman Experiment Station at Moro provides facilities for Oregon State University research of dry land wheat, barley and alternative crops.

Sherman County Fairgrounds near Moro is the site of the annual post-harvest fair.

Sportsmen come from near and afar to hunt deer, pheasant, quail, chukkar, ducks and geese in the fall and winter. Fishing on the Columbia, Deschutes and John Day Rivers is popular and seasonal.

Wasco. The Columbia Southern Railroad Depot and caboose in downtown Wasco recall the days of freight and passenger rail service from Biggs Junction south to Shaniko. 

Campgrounds

Deschutes River Campgrounds in Sherman County

www.oregonstateparks.org/park_37.php                 

www.ohwy.com/or/d/deschrsp.htm 

http://www.or.blm.gov/Prineville/recreation/index.htm#Deschutes%20River

Beavertail Campground is reached via Highway 216, ten miles north of Sherar's Bridge on the Deschutes River. Located on the bank of the Deschutes River, facilities include tent and trailer sites, picnic sites, water, firepits, handicap-accessible pit toilets, trails and a boat ramp. Visitors enjoy fishing, hunting, rafting, boating, views and geology. A Deschutes River boater pass is required for river use. ---Bureau of Land Management.

Macks Canyon Campground is a 14-day campsite on the Deschutes River bank eight miles West of Grass Valley, reached via Highway 216 and north on the Lower Deschutes Access Road north of Sherar's Bridge. Facilities include picnic, tent and trailer sites, pit toilets, boat ramp, water, fire pits and trails. River users are reqired to obtain a boater pass. Visitors enjoy the site for its fishing, hunting, views, geology, rafting, hiking and boating. Bicyclists and hikers enjoy the trail along the abandoned railroad grade. -- Bureau of Land Management.

Jones Canyon Campground is 8.5 miles North of Maupin on the Lower Deschutes Access Road North of Sherar's Bridge. Facilities include picnic, tent and trailer sites, tables, firepits, vault toilets, but NO water. Visitors enjoy fishing, rafting, boating, hunting, picnics and the view.--Bureau of Land Management.

Twin Springs Campground is 15.5 miles North of Maupin on the Lower Deschutes River Access Road. Visitors enjoying fishing, rafting, hunting, geology, and hiking are furnished with picnic, tent and trailer sites, tables, firepits and vault toilets, but NO drinking water. Fees are required for camping and a boater pass is required for river use.

Rattlesnake Pass Campground, 22.5 miles North of Maupin, and North of Sherar's Bridge, on the Lower Deschutes River Access Road, is furnished with picnic, tent and trailer sites, tables, firepits, toilets, boat ramp and trails. Fees are charged for camping and a boater pass is required for river use. -- Bureau of Land Management.

Deschutes State Park 541-739-2322 www.oregonstateparks.org/park_37.php 

Deschutes State Park is an oasis on the East bank of the Deschutes at the mouth. Oregon State Parks operates the day use and camping facilities. Visitors enjoy fishing, boating, rafting, picnics, views, wildlife, hiking, bicycling and horseback riding. Boater passes are required for river use. Bicyclists enjoy access to the abandoned railroad grade along the east bank, also open to horseback riding at certain times of the year.

Giles French Park (say jiles), on the downstream side of the John Day Dam on the banks of Lake Celilo, is popular for sturgeon, walleye and bass fishing, camping and boating. ---U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

John Day Dam

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 541-296-1181

John Day Dam, 216 miles upstream from the mouth of the Columbia river, is at the head of Lake Celilo. The Dam bridges the Columbia River near Rufus, Oregon, and can be reached via exit 109 off Interstate 84 East of The Dalles. Current Homeland Security does not allow visitor access to the any part of the facility.

The project consists of a navigation lock, spillway, powerhouse and fish passage facilities on both shores. Various recreational facilities are provided along the shores of Lake Umatilla and on the John Day River. Lake Umatilla, impounded by the dam, extends upstream about 76 miles to the foot of McNary Dam.

Construction began in 1958 and was completed in 1971, at a total cost of $511 million. At the time of it's completion, John Day Dam Powerhouse was the second largest in the world. Completion of the John Day Dam marked the final step in harnessing the lower waters of the Columbia River.

Lake Celilo, Columbia River impoundment of The Dalles Dam, is accessed at the mouth of the Deschutes River at Heritage Landing, at Biggs Junction near the grain storage bins and at Giles French Park at Rufus.

 Philippi Park, in Gilliam County upriver from LePage, is accessible by boat. Lewis & Clark named this river for Jean LePage. Interpretive sign.  

Sherman County RV Park and Campground at the Fairgrounds near Moro. http://www.shermcty.biz/

Lodging
http://www.shermcty.biz

Parks

Buck Hollow is a day-use fishing and picnic site on the Deschutes River 9.5 miles North of Maupin on the Lower Deschutes River Access Road. Facilities include wheelchair accessible restrooms, vault toilets and a raft-launch site. NO drinking water.

Cottonwood is a boat/raft launch site 12 miles East of Wasco on Highway 206 at J.S. Burres State Park. Facilities include the boat put-in and take-out site and vault toilets on the Gilliam County side of the John Day River.

DeMoss Springs Memorial Park on Highway 97 North of Moro (picnic tables, no camping, portable toilets, interpretive signs)

The Deschutes River State Recreation Area is a tree-shaded overnight oasis for campers on the East bank in Sherman County. The sparkle-laden, swift green rush of the Deschutes converges with the Columbia here, and there's no better place for family outing activities like hiking, biking, camping, rafting, world-class steelhead and trout fishing and equestrian trail riding (riding permitted March through June. A bike trail begins at the park entrance and follows the Deschutes River for 17 miles. The trail itself is an old railroad bed so it is very wide. The surface is dirt with some compacted gravel areas. Horses are permitted to use this trail from March 1 to June 30.The Deschutes, which is both a national and state scenic waterway, drops about a quarter of a mile in its final 100 miles as it twists through canyons 700 to 2,200 feet deep. This park has restrooms, but no showers, 33 electric sites (maximum length 50 feet), 25 primitive sites (maximum length 30 feet); group RV/tent (4 reservation areas); and one covered wagon. Call 541-739-2322 or 1-800-551-6949 for information. Reservations: 1-800-452-5687.

Heritage Landing on the West bank provides boat access to the Deschutes and Columbia Rivers at the mouth of the Deschutes River.

Giles French Park near Rufus and the John Day Dam operated by the Corps of Engineers (boat ramp, fishing, camping, restrooms).

Grass Valley City Park, Highway 97 in Grass Valley (playground, picnic tables, restrooms).

LePage Park at the mouth of the John Day River on I-84 is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (boat ramp, fishing, camping, restrooms).

Moro City Park & Wall of History (restrooms, picnic tables, playground).

Wasco City Park and Historic Columbia Southern Depot and Caboose.