Umatilla National Forest

Spanning the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington, Umatilla National Forest covers 1.4 million acres of dense conifer forests, deep river canyons, and high mountain meadows across a landscape shaped by ancient volcanic activity. The North Fork John Day Wilderness protects 121,000 acres of pristine mountain terrain along one of the longest free-flowing river systems in the Pacific Northwest, while the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness straddles the Oregon-Washington border with 177,000 acres of steep, remote canyon country. The forest's streams and rivers provide critical spawning habitat for wild chinook salmon, steelhead trout, and bull trout, with the North Fork John Day River supporting some of the strongest remaining wild spring chinook runs in the Columbia Basin. Grand fir, Douglas fir, and ponderosa pine forests cover the mountain slopes, with extensive stands of western larch turning brilliant gold in autumn -- one of the few deciduous conifers in North America. The Jubilee Lake area offers a popular high-mountain recreation destination with camping, fishing, and hiking, while the rugged backcountry of the Wenaha drainage provides exceptional elk hunting and truly remote wilderness experiences. The historic Blue Mountain Crossing interpretive site preserves ruts from the Oregon Trail, where thousands of emigrants struggled over the Blue Mountains on their journey westward in the 1840s and 1850s.