Minam River

Oregon

Wallowa-Whitman National Forest
Post Office Box 907
Baker City, Oregon 97814

Designated Reach: October 28, 1988. From its headwaters at the south end of Minam Lake to the Eagle Cap Wilderness boundary, one-half mile downstream from Cougar Creek.

Classification/Mileage: Wild — 41.9 miles; Total — 41.9 miles.

The Minam River is located entirely within the Eagle Cap Wilderness in northeast Oregon on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. Originating out of Blue and Minam Lakes, this 77-mile long river is classified as wild. Its outstandingly remarkable values include: recreation, scenery, fisheries, wildlife and geology.

Visitors can only access the river by Forest Service hiking and horseback trails. A key feature along the river is Reds Horse Ranch. Since acquiring the ranch in the early 1990s, this locally famous ranch and lodge is now managed by the Forest Service as an historic site. Although it is no longer available as an overnight facility, it is open to the public for viewing and visitation with the volunteer staff in the summer months.

The variety in landscapes along the river is dramatic and memorable, from the steep and glaciated upper drainage, to the heavily forested U-shaped valley in the middle portion, to the deeply dissected basalt canyons of the lower canyon.

Since the entire drainage lies within the Eagle Cap Wilderness, it is an area where natural processed dominate. T he diversity of unaltered habitat includes a wide range of solitude-dependent animals, such as wolverine, fisher, Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, mule deer, Rocky Mountain elk, black bear, river otter, bald eagles and cougar. The area is considered a premiere reservoir for big-game species.