JOURNEY
Blue Mountain Eagle
C8
Olive Lake
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
recreation ,
nature
and history
Eagle photos/Richard Hanners
Olive Lake’s 160 acres of deep water offer a wide range of boating and fishing opportunities.
160 acres, 100 feet deep at 6,200 feet in the Blue Mountains
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
O
live Lake is unique in
offering visitors a tri-
fecta of recreation, nature
watching and history all in
one package.
The 160-acre, 100-foot
deep lake sits at 6,200 feet
elevation in the Blue Moun-
tains about 12 miles west
of the historic mining town
of Granite. Legend says the
lake was named for the wife
of a miner or dam caretaker.
Remnants of a cabin can be
found in the Forest Service
campground.
The campground fea-
tures 28 campsites and
seven accessible toilet facil-
ities. A 2.5-mile trail circles
Olive Lake features 28 campsites, and many were well stocked with firewood after a hazard tree mitigation project ended.
the lake, providing access to
wilderness and scenic trails,
a boat ramp and two docks.
No potable water or garbage
service is available.
Visitors to Olive Lake
will find fishing, boating,
swimming, hiking, hunting
and photography opportuni-
ties. Gas and electric trolling
boat motors are allowed but
no wakes, water skiing or
personal watercraft.
Nesting osprey, swim-
ming otters and abundant
128887
128466
wildflowers can be seen at
the lake. Anglers will find
redband rainbow and brook
trout up to 15 inches, the
occasional Lahontan cut-
throat trout and kokanee
salmon up to 12 inches.
The log crib and rock
dam was originally built in
1908 to increase water stor-
age for the Fremont Power-
house about 8 miles away. A
redwood pipe at the base of
the dam once brought water
to the powerhouse.
The Forest Service is
working on plans to fix a dis-
charge gate in the man-made
dam that stopped work-
ing properly in 2016. Half
an acre around the 30-foot
dam is closed to hikers and a
string of buoys mark a 200-
foot portion of the lake that
is closed to swimmers and
boaters.
The Olive Lake Camp-
ground is available on a
first-come, first-served basis
with fees at $12 per night
for single campsites, with
$5 per additional vehicle,
and $25 per night for group
campsites.
From John Day, drive east
on Highway 26 to Austin
Junction, follow State Route
7 for 25 miles, turn left on
State Route 410, drive about
20 miles to Granite, turn left
on County Road 24, after 3.6
miles bear right on Forest
Service Road 10 and drive
7.5 miles to the lake.
For more information,
call the North Fork John
Day Ranger Station at 541-
427-3231 or visit fs.usda.
gov/umatilla.
FRONTIER EQUIPMENT REPAIR
AIRPLANE
RIDES
Grant County
Regional Airport
AUTO REPAIR & 24 HOUR TOWING
FLY-IN
Saturday,
September 14th,
7am -11:30am
John Day, Oregon
541-575-1151
FREE RIDE
S
for children
1st
to 12th grad
e
only
A dam built in 1908 raised
the level of Olive Lake to
increase water storage for
the Fremont Power Station.
Located
downtown,
steps away
from
restaurants,
shops &
antiques.
• Charming Affordable Rooms • Free Secure Wi-Fi • Cable TV
• A/C • Beer and Wine Bar • Tesla and Universal Charging Stations
Airplane Rides Provided by
Grant County Air Search
127790
112 Front St., Prairie City f 541-820-4800
www.hotelprairie.com f hotelprairie@ortelco.net
130425
Grant County
Regional Airport
541-932-4777 • 250 E Main St. • Mt. Vernon
Kayaking, paddleboarding
and canoeing are popular
pasttimes on Olive Lake.