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The Huntington Road:  Historic Oregon Wagon Trail

About halfway between Bend and Redmond, Oregon, is a roughly one-square-mile parcel of public land where a section of the historic Huntington Road wagon trail has been preserved. The parcel is managed by the Prineville district of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U. S. Department of the Interior. At the beginning of the trail, which is closed to all motor vehicles, is a sign posted by the Deschutes County Historical Society that provides the following information:

"Before you lies a one mile segment of historic wagon road known as the "Huntington Road". In 1864, J. W. Perit Huntington, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, guided a party to Fort Klamath to make peace with the Klamath, Modoc and some of the Paiute Indian Tribes. A peace treaty was signed, and the Klamath Reservation was established in 1866 with headquarters at Klamath Agency. By the terms of the "Indian Treaty of 1864", the U. S. government was required to provide the Indians with certain supplies. In the fall of 1867, J. W. Perit Huntington guided a wagon train loaded with supplies from The Dalles to Fort Klamath, creating the Huntington Road. The party consisted of 70 men including teamsters, soldiers and Indian scouts. It is probable that members of the Lost Meek Wagon Train passed over this portion of the Huntington Road in 1845 as they crossed the juniper desert on their way to the Willamette Valley."

How to get there:  Exit east off of U. S. Highway 97 seven miles north of Bend, Oregon, or nine miles south of Redmond, Oregon, at Tumalo Junction. Follow Deschutes Market Road east then south to Dale Road. Turn east (left) and continue to McGrath Road. Turn south (right) and drive to end of the pavement. A fence and cattle guard marks the beginning of the public land. Just past the entrance is a small parking area. A stile (pictured above) over a three-foot high fence provides public hiking access to the 1-mile long trail which branches off to other historical locales. Hikers are advised to obey land use restrictions and respect the privacy of property owners to the north.

Above:  The terrain is typified by sandy soil with basalt outcroppings and old growth junipers.

Above and below:  Bright green Staghorn Lichen draws life from the dead limbs of an abundance of Western Junipers (Juniperus occidentalis).

Above:  Among the twisted junipers are scraggly patches of sagebrush - some living, some dead.

Above:  The red square indicates the approximate location of the public parcel of land as it relates to the preserved section of the Huntington Road.  (Source:  Deschutes County Historical Society)

References:

http://blog.oregonlive.com/terryrichard/2010/05/huntington_wagon_road_a_worthy.html

http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM3980

http://www.deschuteshistory.org/