Hells Canyon National Recreation Area
Public Land · Joseph, Oregon
The deepest river gorge in North America, cut by the Snake River along the Oregon-Idaho border and reaching 7,993 feet from the water to the summit of He Devil across in Idaho - deeper than the Grand Canyon. The recreation area covers about 652,000 acres on both sides, most of it roadless, with 215,000 acres of designated wilderness. It is the least visited landscape of its scale in the lower 48, largely because getting to the rim takes hours of gravel and getting to the river takes a jet boat or a raft.
201 East 2nd Street, Joseph, Oregon, 97846, United States
FREE and open 24 hours a day, year round in principle - but ⚠ ACCESS IS THE WHOLE STORY. Most roads to the Oregon rim, including the road to the Hells Canyon Overlook, are snowed in from roughly November to June, and the approaches are long gravel that punish tyres. There is no visitor centre in the recreation area itself; the Wallowa Mountains Office in Joseph is the staffed contact. Jet boat and rafting trips run commercially from Hells Canyon Dam in a short season and book out. Private float permits on the Wild and Scenic Snake are allocated by lottery well in advance. Dispersed camping is free across most of the area.
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