About John Day Crossing Historic Site
Situated on the east bank of the lower John Day River, this site marks the location where two branches of the Oregon trail converged to meet at the John Day River crossing. Looking up on the hillside, one can see white markers planted to mark the actual routes as they descend the hillside. Imagine trying to keep wagons and stock from plunging down the hillside, unchecked. Some emigrants who descended one branch of the Oregon Trail here are said to have remarked that the other branch must have been better because it could not be worse than the one they descended. Follow the trail markers along the road just above the historic site for ¼ mile to a small interpretive site. Here, one afforded a vantage of the approach of the John Day River crossing. Depending on the time of year one views the crossing, the river’s volume of water can look quite ominous. Most of the journal entries date from…
- Managed by: John Day Wild and Scenic River, BLM
- Where: 13 mi southwest of Roosevelt, WA · 45.59608, -120.40969
Things to do:
Weather by month
Typical daily highs and lows (°F), 1991–2020 NOAA normals. Best months: May–Jun & Sep–Oct (comfortable days, mild nights, little rain). Nights below freezing: Dec–Feb.
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Good to know
No signal at camp
From the carriers' FCC coverage maps, which tend to be generous.The Milky Way shows rich detail, horizon to horizon.
Class 2 of 9, from NASA/NOAA night-light data.Dump station: 8.1 mi
Water fill-up: 8.1 mi