Early July I traveled to the Pueblo Mountains of Southeast Oregon to visit the area for the first time and hike some peaks. This couple climbed/hiked Pueblo Mountain then crossed 10 cent meadows to hike and explore the West Pueblo Ridge around and down the Cottonwood drainage and back to their camp in the Arizona creek basin in one day. The Pueblo Mountains are truly a land of hidden charms. The Pueblo crest hiking route described here has no trees, no water sources, and no trail tread.
> Hikes in the Upper Owyhee River Canyons NOTE: Two tempting desert “islands” near the Oregon-Nevada border, the Trout Creek and Oregon Canyon Mountains, are not well-suited for day hiking. Mention the Pueblo Mountains and most folks conjure images of Arizona or New Mexico. The highest peak in the range is Pueblo Mountain, which is 8,632 feet (2,631 m) above sea level at its summit. On Day 3 I left my camp and explored all day. Try again. Most Oregonians have never heard of the Pueblo Mountains, a commanding fault-block range between Steens Mountain and the Nevada border. An example of the endurance but also how accessible the area is. The section extends from Fields, Oregon, to Denio, Nevada, a hiking distance of approximately 22 miles. Access to their most walkable stream canyons, including Trout Creek, Whitehorse Creek and Oregon Canyon Creek, is blocked by private ranches. In Oregon the Northern Warner Mountains are a massive uplift overlooking Goose Lake on a scale that only Steens and Pueblo Mountains can exceed. Pull out an Oregon map and look east of the Cascades for the town of Lakeview. Standing alone, Pueblo Mountain is the only high peak that does not lie along the West Pueblo Ridge.
It is located in Oregon, 8 miles (13 km) north of the Nevada state line. However to the south across the California border where the Goose Lake Basin and Warner Mountains extend is the range's highpoint; Eagle Peak, the dominant mountain of the interstate region at 9892 feet. Its green stream canyons and colorful rock formations are concealed within the range’s interior, though still easily accessible. The highest peak in the Pueblos Range, Pueblo Mountain is Southeast Oregon's second highest mountain, and is #20 on the Oregon P2K list with 3035 feet of prominence. Located just south of Steens Mountain, this little-visited range appears dry, desolate and barren when first viewed from the Fields-Denio highway. Hiking the Pueblos Experience the desert offerings of Southeast Oregon's remote range. Just west of Pueblo Mountain is West Pueblo Ridge. The Pueblo Mountains section is the first officially recognized and authorized portion of the proposed Canada to Mexico National Desert Scenic Trail. The ridge is a westward-tilted escarpment that runs the length of the Pueblo Mountains. I drove up the narrow and rocky “Arizona Creek Road” for 4.6 miles and car camped just north of Stergen Meadows near the head of Arizona Creek, below the north ridge of Pueblo Mountain.