The Long Way
Frenchglen
A person hiking with a dog near rocky cliffs and patches of snow.
Plate I. Overlook along the Steens Loop Tour Route. From traveloregon.com
Two hikers walk on a trail through a desert landscape with hills and mountains.
Plate II. Desert landscape along Steens Loop Tour Route. From blm.gov
A car drives along a dirt road winding through a mountain landscape with patches of snow.
Plate III. Vehicle driving on Steens Loop Tour Route. From lakecountyexam.com
A wide landscape view from a high mountain slope overlooking a valley.
Plate IV. Mountain landscape, Steens Loop Tour Route. From blm.gov
A narrow dirt path winds between rocky walls with weathered formations.
Plate V. Rock formations along Steens Loop Tour Route. From blm.gov
A scenic landscape view of a lake with hills and a sunset sky.
Plate VI. Landscape along Steens Loop Tour Route. From blm.gov
Yellow wildflowers bloom in a field before rolling hills under a cloudy sky.
Plate VII. Wildflowers along Steens Loop Tour Route. From blm.gov

Steens Loop Tour Route

Frenchglen, Oregon. Steens Mountain Backcountry Byway.

Details

Where
Frenchglen, OR. No street address stated. Directions
When
Distance: 59 miles; Minimum Drive Time: 3-5 hours; Best Time to Visit: July through October, the road is closed in the winter months.
Season
Full loop open: early July to mid-October.
Getting there
From Burns, take State Highway 78 southeast about 2 miles, turn right on State Highway 205 and continue south 60 miles to Frenchglen, then turn left onto Steens Mountain Loop Road just past town.
Hours
Closed in winter; the road is gated by section in the shoulder seasons and fully open early July to mid-October per the BLM.
Access
The Steens Mountain Loop Road is a standard gravel road.
Phone
541-573-4400
Website
blm.gov
Managed by
Bureau of Land Management.
Established
1962.

The Steens Mountain Loop Road is Oregon's highest elevation road and is generally open from early July to November. It affords visitor access to four developed campgrounds and overlooks at Kiger Gorge, East Rim, Big Indian Gorge, Wildhorse and Little Blitzen Gorge. The Loop Road also accesses the Riddle Brothers Ranch National Historic District.

Notable Events

  1. 1930The Civilian Conservation Corps built a road from Frenchglen up to Fish Lake, the beginnings of the Steens Mountain Loop Road. blm.gov
  2. 1962Construction of the remaining portion, delayed by World War II until the early 1960s, finished and the road was completed in 1962. blm.gov
  3. 1967E.R. Jackman and John Scharff published Steens Mountain, in Oregon's High Desert Country, with photographs by Charles Conkling. oregonencyclopedia.org
  4. 2000Congress designated the Steens Mountain Wilderness, now more than 170,200 acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management. blm.gov
  5. The Bureau of Land Management built a road from Frenchglen to the summit for livestock management, hunting, camping, and recreation. oregonencyclopedia.org

People

  • Enoch Steen, Major for whom the U.S. Army named Steens Mountain (1860).
  • John Work, Hudson's Bay Company fur trader whose description led early maps to call the mountain the Snow Mountains (1831).

Sources

  1. traveloregon.com/things-to-do/trip-ideas/scenic-drives/steens-loop-tour-route
  2. blm.gov/programs/recreation/recreation-activities/oregon-washington/steens-mountain
  3. blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/oregon-washington/high-steens-wsa
  4. blm.gov/press-release/steens-mountain-loop-road-debuts-tripcheck
  5. tripcheck.com/Pages/Scenic-Byways-Steens-Loop
  6. fhwaapps.fhwa.dot.gov/bywaysp/byway/68916
  7. blm.gov/programs/recreation/recreation-activities/oregon-washington/steens-mountain
  8. oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/steens_mountain
  9. pubs.usgs.gov/bul/2183