Mount Emily Recreation Area — Attraction in La Grande

A nice find for trail runners such as ourselves. We did the Mera loop along with a couple of other small loops to get in an early morning 9.5 mile run. There was some good elevation gains, but not so strenuous that we couldn't run the whole route (To be clear, we do run trails quite often) . It's mostly wooded, but still had some good views and scenery. Trails were in great condition, perfect for trail running. (and they were actual trails, not just roads). Parking and access is free, but the road up there can get dusty, so if you want to keep you car clean, you're out of luck there. There wasn't much foot or vehicle traffic, which was nice. Restrooms are at the trailhead; another plus. Thank you to all of those people who make recreational areas like this possible. And for those planners, economists, and chamber-of-commerce type of people, these sorts of areas are valuable to your community. We had planned on trying to stay in Hermiston or Pendleton or maybe even Baker City when planning our route through the area. But when I found the Mt Emily rec area on-line, only 10-15 minutes off the beaten path, we altered our plans and planned our stay in La Grande around it. Had dinner, stayed overnight, did our morning run, had breakfast, shopped at Walmart, and then headed out. And then we stopped again on our way back through, because we had noticed the full service Pizza hut with a salad bar (we don't have those in our area). We easily dropped $400-500 into the area, just because of these...

Great views and fun trails. Jeep, atv, sxs, mtb and dirt bike. Whatever you ride or drive, there’s a trail for you. We followed mainline to the look out, then took Mt. Emily road down the backside. There’s a connector trail that brings you back up and around. (422 I think...there’s a map at the bottom of Mt Emily road).

There are a couple Staging areas, large enough for trailers and some camping spots as well. Beginner kids track helps the littles practice cornering....

This is a great hike! The trails would also be great for mountain biking. There is an actual mountain bike track area next to the trails. I did the Mera trail. It was about 8.8 miles out and back. There are some beautiful views of the valley. The trail winds through thick trees. There are a few creeks with little bridges to cross. All and all it was an awesome hike. I packed a cooler and had a meal at the end before heading back to the Tri-Cities. Great place for a...