The Oregon Overlanding Guide

Oregon is the ninth-largest US state at 98,000 square miles, with the topography rotating roughly every 100 miles east-to-west. The Pacific coast and Coast Range sit on the west; the Willamette Valley holds Portland, Salem, and Eugene; the Cascades run north-south through the middle; and the high desert of the Owyhee Canyonlands and Steens-Alvord country dominates the southeast. Most overland trips through Oregon either traverse one of those bands or focus on a single one for a multi-day base camp.

The wet, overcast winters Oregon is known for mostly belong to the western third of the state. The eastern two-thirds run drier, with cold snowy winters and hot, dry summers.

Oregon overlanding overview

The state divides into seven landform regions: the Oregon Coast, the Willamette Valley, the Klamath Mountains, the Cascade Range, the Columbia Plateau, the Blue Mountains, and the Northern Basin and Range (the high desert). The biggest overland drawcards sit in the last two regions. The Blue Mountains carry the OBDR and several scenic byways, while the Northern Basin and Range holds the Owyhee Canyonlands, the Steens, and the Alvord Desert.

Oregon borders California, Nevada, Idaho, and Washington, which makes it a natural connector between the Cascades-and-coast routes north and the Great Basin and California routes south.

Oregon overland routes and destinations

Pacific Crest Overland Route

The Pacific Crest is the chain of mountain ranges running from California through Oregon and Washington and into British Columbia. The Pacific Crest Overland Route is a loosely-defined vehicle route that roughly parallels the Pacific Crest Trail (the long-distance through-hike) along the same spine. The Oregon section starts at Hood River in the north and ends near Keno, close to the California border.

Chris Cordes at Expedition Portal published a route guide for the Oregon segment that remains the most-cited reference for this stretch. See also our list of US overland routes.

Oregon Backcountry Discovery Routes

The Oregon Off-Highway Vehicle Association maintains several long off-pavement routes across the state. The routes are designed for trucks, ATVs, and dual-sport motorcycles and pass through wilderness areas where self-recovery and self-resupply are the norm. OOHVA publishes maps, GPX files, and current conditions.

Alvord Desert and Steens Mountain

The Alvord Desert is a dry lake bed in remote southeastern Oregon that forms a 12-by-7-mile salt flat at the eastern foot of Steens Mountain. The Steens themselves rise more than a vertical mile from the desert floor to a 9,733-foot summit, with gorges, hot springs (Alvord Hot Springs is the named stop), and Mann Lake on the eastern side.

Fields-Denio Road is the standard route along the eastern front of the Steens. The road runs roughly 60 miles of dirt and gravel between Fields and Denio (on the Oregon-Nevada border), with views of the Alvord throughout. The Steens Mountain Loop Road climbs the western face from Frenchglen and is closed in winter; the upper sections typically open in late June or July.

Owyhee Canyonlands

The Owyhee Canyonlands cover roughly 2 million acres of high desert and canyon country in southeastern Oregon along the Idaho border. Most of the area is BLM land with sparse infrastructure, and the road network is mostly unmarked two-track. The Owyhee is one of the largest blocks of undeveloped public land in the Lower 48 and serves as the eastern bookend of most southern Oregon overland itineraries. Hiking and float trips on the Owyhee River are common companion activities.

McGrew Trail

The McGrew Trail is a 26-mile off-pavement route in southwestern Oregon, running through the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest near the town of O'Brien. The trail is high-clearance and four-wheel drive only, with steep sections and loose rock. Through-driving takes roughly six hours at a steady pace. Permits are required and are issued by the Forest Service; Sourdough Campground sits along the route for overnighting.

Other Oregon overlanding resources

Oregon national forests

Eleven national forests cover land in Oregon:

Forest Service roads are the backbone of most custom routes in Oregon. The Pacific Northwest Region publishes Motor Vehicle Use Maps for each forest showing every designated road and trail.

Oregon BLM lands

The BLM Oregon-Washington office administers more than 16 million acres of public land in Oregon, concentrated in the central and eastern parts of the state. Dispersed camping is allowed on most BLM land with a standard 14-day stay limit, after which campers must move at least 25 road miles.

Oregon state parks

Oregon State Parks operates more than 250 parks across the state, covering roughly 110,000 acres. Most state parks prohibit dispersed camping and limit vehicle travel to paved roads, but they work well as paved stops between BLM and Forest Service segments.

Oregon off-roading areas

The state operates several designated OHV areas, including the Oregon Dunes along the coast and several in the eastern national forests. Current designated areas and rules are listed on the Oregon Parks and Recreation OHV page.