9/6/2021: This hike is considered very strenuous because of some
hand-over-hand climbing, rock scrambling, extreme weather (heat in summer), exposure, and length. Also, you
should be able to navigate using a compass and carry a GPS. This is most definitely not a beginner's hike. I
would not do this alone. Requires high-clearance vehicle.
With that said, this is a beautiful hike, with old growth sagebrush, beautiful rock formations, rhyolite
cliffs, and areas where you will look out over the canyon and say, “I didn’t know anything like
that was in Oregon! Are we in Oregon?”
Key: Views | Rock Formations | Old
Sagebrush | Wildflowers | Wildlife | Canyons | Rattlesnakes | Desert | Oregon | BLM
- 9.0 miles loop - Hike clockwise, down Carlton Canyon first
- Difficulty: Hard – VERY hard (don’t let the elevation gain full you)
- Elevation range: 3178' to 4367’ gross: +1,400’
- Traffic: Light
- Getting There: Four-wheel drive, high clearance vehicle is required. The road to the Painted Canyon
Trailhead is best suited for four-wheel drive vehicles. Travel times depend on road conditions and
comfort level with backcountry travel. Do NOT travel on this road after even a quarter inch of
rain. Odyssey make it? No.
- Trail Obstacles: hand-over-hand climbing, rock scrambling, extreme weather (heat in summer), exposure,
length, and rattlesnakes. Use your GPS. There is usually no water. We took a gallon of water each and
drank every ounce. This is NOT! an easy little day hike.
- Fees: None
- Trailhead Coordinates: 43.477472, -117.235750
- Driving Directions
- Trail Map
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this Trail
- Photos
- Geo-mapped
Photos
- Management: Bureau of Land
Management
- Alltrails Info
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