Dog walking in Halfway

Hell's Canyon Wilderness Area

With Hell’s Canyon and all the pawesome trails around it so close to Halfway, you’d be barking mad not to check it out! Tucked away in the bordering Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, the area is pretty popular with serious hikers and scenery-seeking tourists alike. It’s easy to see why -- Hell’s Canyon is the deepest gorge in the entire United States, and the view from the overlook is spectacular. There are over nine hundred hiking trails in the whole wilderness area, with difficulty levels varying from easy enough to truly punishing. Be sure to look up a trail map before you go!

Eagle's Cap Wilderness Area

Eagle Cap Wilderness area is a real mutts-visit! This vast preserve is the most-visited in Northeast Oregon, and with good reason -- the wilderness contains over three hundred miles of trails for you and your buddy to sniff and explore, and the landscape varies from Alpine peaks to glaciated valleys to meadows and forests. Not only that, but Eagle Cap Wilderness is studded with serene and peaceful lakes and shot through with streams. You’ll find a trailhead in Cornucopia, just twenty miles away from Halfway (though some maps mark it as being in Halfway itself). Remember to bring bags and water!

Baker City Center

Make no bones about it, you and your pooch are sure to find somewhere to chow down in Baker City’s downtown area! The city’s charming and historic central district is home to a plethora of fur-friendly eateries. Mexican on your mind? Check out D&J’s Taco Shop. Their steak burritos are excellent, and they cater to canines outside. For a quick bite, consider stopping in at Charley’s Ice Cream Parlour and Delicatessen, where the tomato basil soup is freshly made and wagging tails are welcome outside. Or if you’re looking for something a bit more upmarket, you and your pooch can dine al-fresco at the stylish 1889 Cafe at the Geiser Hotel. You’ll have to call ahead to make a reservation, but the steamed Puget clams are to die for!

Oxbow

This part of Oregon is dotted with ghost towns -- from abandoned Gold Rush settlements like Cornucopia to more established communities that happened to get in the way of reservoirs, like Robinette. Copperfield was once such a place -- a true Wild West mining town complete with saloons and shoot-outs, abandoned in the early twentieth century. Now, though, it’s the site of a lush, well-developed park -- a pawfect excursion for pups and owners who like their nature a little more maintained! Located just south of Hell’s Canyon Wilderness Area, the park features a stunning oxbow lake and a couple of short walking trails.