Lake Owyhee State Park — Attraction in Oregon

Lake Owyhee State Park is an oasis in the middle of the spectacular desert canyons located 28 miles south of Ontario in Malheur County, Oregon. The state park is home to the Owyhee Reservoir, a 53-mile lake formed by the damming of the Owyhee River. This man-made body of water known as Lake Owyhee, which is the longest in Oregon, offers prime high desert scenery with the Owyhee Mountains to the east and surrounded by long desert buttes and hills amidst craggy and towering peaks known broadly as the Owyhee Uplands. Outdoor recreational activities include fishing, boating, camping, hiking, hunting, wildlife viewing, rock hounding, and landscape photography. The lake is noted for excellent fishing for largemouth and smallmouth bass, crappie, walleye, brown bullhead, yellow perch, catfish, and trout. The surrounded area is home to abundant wildlife including bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, golden eagles, coyotes, mule deer, mountain lions, and wild horses. Truly a wild and sparsely populated area, Lake Owyhee State Park is the ideal base camp for hiking and exploring Oregon’s badlands.

There are two campgrounds at the park with seasonal camping from April 15th through October 31st. The main McCormack Campground has 29 RV electrical sites with water, nine tent sites with water nearby, two tepees, hot showers, toilets, with paved parking, and picnic tables. The Indian Creek Campground has 27 RV electrical sites with water, and five primitive tent sites. Both campgrounds have a boat ramp for access to the lake. The Gordon Gulch day-use area has a boat ramp and a large, shaded picnic area.

A destination to highlight with a modest drive from Lake Owyhee State Park area, is a remote haven for rockhounds searching for thundereggs and gemstones, called Succor Creek State Natural Area. This Owyhee Canyonlands landscape makes for a great base camp for day trips into the Painted Canyon, Honeycombs, and Leslie Gulch. Limited souvenir collecting by rockhounds is permitted in the area. There is a rough 15 mile dirt road which leads from Oregon 201 to Succor Creek. At the Succor Creek Campground, there is walk-in primitive tent camping and day-use areas on the east side of the creek. There are primitive tent sites on the west side of the creek, and no potable water is available in the area. Although, water can be found in the creek as long as it is filtered or treated. The name Succor Creek refers to early travelers in the Snake River Basin who, having been saved by the creek’s vital water, applied the name as a corruption of the Spanish word “socorro”, meaning to help or aid.

Owyhee Lake Drive takes you deep into desert country and winds through countless turns through the narrow Owyhee Canyon and along the meandering Owyhee River. The view along this journey captures everything an outdoorsman and landscape photographer desires. From orange mountain cliffs with burnt red striations of volcanic ash, to vari-colored tuffs with bands of yellows and shades of lavender. The drive features desert plateaus with sage brush with silvery tips and dry grasses forming fields of brown. With gray sand and stream deposits along the banks of the flowing Owyhee River, and the oasis of green surrounding the water, the area represents many spectrum of sensational color.

From spectacular landscapes to an abundance of wildlife and hiking opportunities to explore, Lake Owyhee State Park and the highly recommended Owyhee Canyon is a top destination in Oregon to explore and photograph Oregon’s wild and...

It's my backyard. I love it. It is beautiful and a person can get lost there. No cell service is actually a good thing. I grew up here so it holds a very special place in my heart and I am proud that I get to work there. The road getting to the lake is twisty and a little rough. The climb to the dam and along the lake is the same. There are no guard rails, so be prepared for slow downs with meeting oncoming traffic. The little state park (day use) is packed on the weekends during nice weather. The campgrounds are well maintained and often booked during the weekends. The little store sells limited items and is open certain days of the week. There's fuel available for boaters at Indian Creek campground. Flush toilets and showers at McCormack campground. Rattlesnakes and bull snakes frequent the area. My advice to boaters is to get there very early on weekends because there's limited parking. There are no maintained trails, so hiking is at your own risk. Not many places to use an ATV or dirtbike. I'd say it's treacherous for bicyclists due to traffic. There isn't any "beach", per se, and the shoreline of all the state parks is very rocky. Wear water shoes. The drive is definitely worth it and the scenery...

While the lake was amazing, the campground this year was in terrible shape. The state parks manager of this area is not allowing watering or upkeep of the grounds. The grass was dead and many of the trees were dying. The state parks workers who were driving around said they wanted to water and mow and get everything looking good, but were not allowed to even though they were only down one staff member. They said they had plenty of time to attend to those things with their current schedules. Also, gas is available for boats, but is locked down during the week even though there are staff members available to pump it. Staff members need to be allowed to do their jobs while on duty so this campground can get back to the awesome place it usually is! There are frequently rattlesnakes in the campground once the sun goes down during the summer months so keep an eye out and use a light while walking around at night. There are almost always bags of ice available for $3 payable by cash,...