Lakeview to Steens Mountain Back Country Byway

State: Oregon
Length: 90.0 mi / 144.8 km
Time to Allow: Allow 2-3 hours to drive the byway.
Restrictions: Portions of this byway may require a high-clearance type vehicle.

Take the opportunity to view waterfowl in the Warner Wetlands or the spectacular geologic escarpment at Hart Mountain and the National Antelope Refuge. Providing striking views of the high desert area west of Steens Mountain, it gives you a wide view of what other activities await you.

Spend a day 'on the range' to see what pioneers and cowboys saw a century ago—the region is home to a number of deer, bighorn sheep and antelope. Other chances to experience and learn about history can be found at the Oregon Central Military Road, the Civilian Conservation Corps Camp Site at the basis of Hart Mountain and prehistoric cultural resources along the byway.

Take full advantage of the outdoors and variety of landscape by hiking, fishing, hunting, skiing or simply sightsee—there is plenty of wildlife to watch and take pictures of; making your trip to the southern portion of Oregon an enjoyable one.

Stories

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  Lakeview to Steens Mountain Back Country Byway Overview

  Dec 10, 2008

  The Lakeview to Steens Mountain Back Country Byway offers panoramic views of Oregon’s high Great Basin Desert. In the distance, snowcapped mountains hover over remote horizons, while mirages shimmer in the hot desert sun above dry lakebeds. Sagebrush grows so thick that it appears as a gray carpet blanketing rolling hills, broken by an occasional canyon or rim rock lava flow.