Kam Wah Chung brought together a Chinese medical clinic, a general store, a community center and a residence in one building. These different functions make the site a distinctive gateway to Grant County’s history. The historic building is accessible only as part of a guided tour; plan your visit accordingly.
Fossils and Historic Sites
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is located in Grant and Wheeler counties. Its sedimentary rocks preserve a fossil record of plants and animals spanning nearly 50 million years: from about 50 million to 5 million years ago. The Clarno Unit has the monument’s oldest exposed rock layers. The Sheep Rock Unit is home to the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center and the James Cant Ranch Historic District, which covers 200 acres.
The county’s museums also tell different chapters of the region’s story. Grant County Historical Museum features exhibits on Indigenous peoples, pioneers, settlers and Chinese workers in the goldfields. Other topics covered include the miners who discovered gold in 1862. Grant County Ranch and Rodeo Museum documents cowboy life through photographs, tools and literature.
DeWitt Museum features a historic building that once served as the western terminus of the Sumpter Valley Railroad. The railroad ran between Baker City and Prairie City from 1909 to 1933. Kam Wah Chung, the museums and the traces of the railroad each offer a different perspective on history, from daily life and communities to work and transportation.
Rivers and Routes
Grant County includes the headwaters of the John Day River. More miles of this river are designated as Wild and Scenic River than any other river in the United States. Whitewater rafting is one of the recreational activities on the John Day Wild and Scenic River. Mule deer, elk, black bears, peregrine falcons and bald eagles occur in the corridor.
Trout fishing is possible on the South Fork John Day Wild and Scenic River; 47 miles of the South Fork John Day River are designated as Wild and Scenic River. The gravel South Fork John Day Back Country Byway runs parallel to the river. The route offers views of deep canyons, juniper forests and ponderosa pine forests. A scenic bikeway route begins in John Day at the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site and passes the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness and the Fossil Beds National Monument.
Trails and Time Outdoors
In the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness, the Strawberry Basin Trail passes through alpine forest to lakes, peaks and waterfalls in the Lakes Basin. The Strawberry Lake Trail loops around Strawberry Lake within the same wilderness. The trails described have different focuses: one passes through forest to several landscape features, while the other follows the lake all the way around.
Clyde Holliday State Recreation Site has a picnic area and campground open year-round. A nature trail there follows a tree-shaded riverbank to a small pond for wildlife viewing. This means visitors can enjoy both a short nature trail and time outdoors at the same recreation site, without equating the trail with any of the named rivers.
In summer, Grant County Farmers Market is an outdoor market where vendors sell goods they have grown, raised or made. If you plan to visit the market, check the dates before your trip. Along with historic sites, river landscapes and trails, the county offers a variety of themes to guide your explorations.
Discover more destinations: John Day, Dayville, Long Creek, Klamath County, Douglas, Sherman, Harney County, Curry.
For the main travel overview: Oregon.
