Harney County High Point Trip Report
Steens Mountain summit (9,733 ft)
Date: August 1998
Author: Ken Jones
Highpoint of the remote, but popular, Steens Mountains. It is not clear
which summit is higher here; get them both to be sure.
From state route 205 south of Burns, drive the Steens Mountain loop (also
labeled Fish Lake Road) east from Frenchglen. After lots of well-graded and
well-maintained dirt road driving (with perhaps some washboard areas) into
the ever more scenic Steens range, you'll reach a point just west of the
crest where the road heads southerly at about 8900' elevation. The road
continues southerly a bit over 2 miles, then turns westerly. Just before
the turn, there are two left-hand forks.
The first fork leads up to a parking area just below the point marked 9730
on the map. Walk up hill and find the highest point in this, the northern
possibility for the county's highest. Clinometer sighting leads me to
believe the high spot here is probably a bit higher than the one to the
south.
The second fork leads south for almost two miles to a gated trailhead. From
here you can walk the closed road south about ¼ mile and 200' gain to the
radio facilities and the highpoint marked 9733.