Maxville was a logging town in Wallowa County where African American and white loggers lived. The Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center collects, preserves, and shares the history of this community.
Lakes and Mountains
Wallowa Lake State Park lies between the southern end of a scenic glacial lake and the high peaks of the Wallowa Mountains. Its setting brings together two striking landscape features: the lakeshore and the mountain backdrop. The Wallowa Lake Marina, open seasonally, rents moorage and various watercraft, including kayaks and motorboats. If you plan to include these options in your trip, keep the seasonal opening schedule in mind.
A different mountain landscape defines the Eagle Cap Wilderness: high-altitude alpine lakes and meadows, bare granite peaks and ridges, and U-shaped glacial valleys. The landscape is characterized not only by individual peaks, but also by the landforms between them—from open meadows to glacially carved valleys. For nature enthusiasts, this gives a concrete sense of the landscape features that define the wilderness.
Hells Canyon on a Grand Scale
Wallowa County is home to the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. As the deepest river gorge on the North American continent, Hells Canyon descends more than a mile below Oregon’s western rim.
The trail network in the Oregon portion of the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area covers around 600 miles.
Cultural History and Community Celebrations
The Wallowa County Museum is housed in the historic First Bank of Joseph building, built in 1888. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The museum preserves and presents items related to the county’s history, including the heritage of the Nez Perce as well as pioneers and settlers. The building, historic designation, and collection offer different ways to explore the area’s history.
The Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland also connects a specific place with cultural interpretation. The 320-acre site is open every day, year-round, from sunrise to sunset. The visitor center introduces the people of Wallowa Country and contemporary Nez Perce culture through photographs, artifacts, maps, and art. Your explorations can therefore take in both the county’s history and the present-day culture of the Nez Perce.
Tamkaliks is a three-day celebration of Nez Perce culture, community, and homecoming. It takes place every July in Wallowa, Oregon, and concludes with a Friendship Feast to which everyone is invited. If you’d like to include the celebration in your trip plans, check the specific event dates. The annual Maxville Gathering takes place during the third week of August. These two recurring events offer different time windows: Tamkaliks is in July, while the Maxville Gathering is in the third week of August.
Discover more destinations: Wallowa, Joseph, Lane, Lincoln, Douglas, Hood River, Marion, Lake County.
See the main travel overview: Oregon.
