Blue Mountains and the Wallowas in La Grande
The mountains around La Grande are mostly national forest. This page gives facts from the U.S. Forest Service and the Anthony Lakes site. Check them for current conditions, permits and closures.
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest
The Forest Service describes Wallowa-Whitman National Forest as 2.4 million acres in northeastern Oregon and western Idaho. Elevations range from 875 feet along the Snake River to 9,843 feet in the alpine peaks. Its ranger districts are Whitman, La Grande, Wallowa Valley and Eagle Cap, plus the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, which is 652,488 acres on the Oregon and Idaho border. The Forest Service says the La Grande Ranger District mainly administers its Blue Mountains North / Grande Ronde River Basin area, and the forest has offices in La Grande, Baker City and Joseph, among others.
Eagle Cap Wilderness and the Wallowa Mountains
The Forest Service says the Eagle Cap Wilderness totals 359,991 acres in the heart of the Wallowa Mountains, about 25 miles east of La Grande. It lists about 535 miles of trails for hikers and horseback riders. Each group must get a Wilderness Visitor Permit before entering, and group size is limited. The area was made a primitive area in 1930, designated wilderness in 1940, and placed in the National Wilderness Preservation System by the Wilderness Act of 1964.
Anthony Lakes
Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort describes itself on its own site as a mountain resort with winter and summer recreation, and says it operates in partnership with Wallowa-Whitman National Forest under a special use permit. Its mailing address is in North Powder. The Forest Service lists campgrounds, a boat launch, a picnic area, a shoreline trail and a guard station at Anthony Lakes, and says the guard station is about 21 miles from North Powder.