Wallowa Lake State Park Overview

Wallowa Lake State Park is a site in North Eastern Oregon that has an amazing astronomy and star gazing opportunities! It is a bit farther away from populated areas than other sites covered, but this state park provides is one of the best available star gazing opportunities in Oregon!

The site is close to the Zumwalt Prairie Preserve, which we have also talked about, as opportunities in Notheastern Oregon for amazing stargazing. The Wallowa Lake State Park area has a variety of activities, including hiking wilderness trails, horseback riding, bumper boat, canoeing, miniature golf, and a tramway to the top of one of the mountains for daytime activities. It is definitely a great opportunity to bring a telescope and camera.

Location

• How far outside of Portland? ~336 miles depending on the route taken. This make the drive around 6 hour drive depending on traffic and stops.
• Google Maps Location

There shouldn’t be any issues with paying for parking, but stay on the roads and pull over to the side when going on a hike.

Overnight Accommodations

The campground at Wallowa Lake State Park has several opportunities to camp, but it is worth noting that reservations can be made 6 months ahead of time. Moreover, during the winter time (October to mid-May), maintenance and service will be limited due to limited accessibility to the campsite. During this winter period, the campground first-come, first-served sites are available as plowing and maintenance allows.  There are 121 hookup sites (including 2 ADA sites), 88 non-hookup sites, 2 hard-sided rustic yurts, 3 group tent areas and a hiker-biker area. Reservations can be made using the Reserve America website.

Site Type	Cost
Full Hookup	$32
Group Tent	$75
Hiker-biker per person	$7
Pet Friendly Yurt	$55
Tent site	$20
Yurt	$45

Weather

The current weather can be found here: https://www.josephoregonweather.com/lakeforecast/lakeforecast.php

Current Seeing Conditions/Forecast Charts

The chart above is courtesy of ClearDarkSky.com and the chart below is courtesy of Clearoutside.com’