lake owyhee state park

I'm a photographer who travels quite a bit, so we are used to out of the way locations. Lake Owyhee can be found outside the town of Adrian, Oregon. You travel along a narrow windy road until you get to the State Park. You will first pass the Owyhee Dam with amazing sights.Times to go for photography or sight seeing. Early mornings and late afternoons near sunset times or an hour before.Check the forecast before you leave if you are shooting photos because the fog and cloudslie low in the canyons.Their is also a hot spring along the way that gives off a sulfur smell but if your game for itsit on the rocks and put your feet in the water. (100+Temp) This is an amazing site for adults to take the time and drive. Bring yourself a lunchand drinks for the day......Have fun...Louis Ruth Photography

The teepee was fun. It is pretty basic...mats on cement pad. No big deal. If I wanted luxury, I'd stay in a hotel. Right on the lake...if it wasn't at 4% capacity. Terrible drought. Still just absolutely beautiful. No cell service which was not a problem on vacation. Park host did his rounds bringing us firewood and ice. Bathrooms are close. Had a big problem with flies.....they were everywhere. Another "oh well". Make sure to stop at Snively Hot Springs before getting on single lane road to park. Nice hidden spot. Kind of weird not seeing a sign toward the park, but coming back. It's the second gravel parking lot with vault toilet on the left side of road going toward park. Past all the fly-fisherman. Would definitely come back here to get away from it all.

We did not camp here, we just spent the day, taking our kayaks on the lake. We picnicked in McCormack campground. At first we got lost because we went through Homedale, but we could not find HWY 201, so we got directions at the bowling alley. It turns out 201 is Succor Creek Rd. and you follow it to Adrian, from there, there are signs, take Owyhee Lake Rd. The rock formations on the way there are very interesting, and you follow the Owyhee River.here is a hot springs on this road, but we did not stop, because there were a few people there. There must have been some good fly- fishing, because we saw fisherman all the way there. Eventually you get to the reservoir and it is very blue! We put our kayaks in at McCormack campground. There are restrooms with flushing toilets and showers. There are some trees so you don't have to bake in the hot sun. There are 2 teepees in this campground, only one was occupied, and there was only one other campsite occupied. We had the lake completely to ourselves except right before we left , 2 boats arrived. This is a perfect place to kayak, but I suggest putting in at the boat dock down the road, before you get to the campground, otherwise you will have to carry your kayaks a long way, as the dock in the campground was closed. it was very easy to row around, and it is surrounded by interesting rock formations.The drive is not far, but it takes quite a while because of the winding, sometimes one lane road. The dam, I read was the tallest in the world at the time it was built. The water was quite low and the glory was dry.

Our stay was perfect until it was time to go to bed. Don't bother with the teeee. It looks cool, but My "terrible" review is only for the teepee. The lake itself is gorgeous. The teepee sounded like so much fun for a family adventure. It is sitting on top of a deck...under the deck were all sorts of crickets and it was so loud. We were sleeping over a nest of crickets. The crickets would also crawl up through the deck and be inside the teepee. The perimeter of the teepee is open air so there is no way to keep anything from crawling in. I know that a teepee isn't perfectly sealed from the elements but this was just crap. Lots of the ties were torn off so we couldn't keep the door flap closed. We did not find it enjoyable. Wish we would have just brought our tent. The lake itself is gorgeous. If you have a boat or jet skis or want to fish....perfect place to be. Oh! The store closed at 4, which is the same time as check in, I found that a bit odd. If you need to buy wood track down the park ranger

Awesome view driving up the canyon to the park. The park was not full as the water was really low, but it is still a great place to camp..The deer come into the camp and the view is wonderful..

First, the Oregon State Parks website has the wrong directions on the website. Do NOT follow the State's directions to their campground. However, I have seen the correct directions on there recently. I've listed my directions below.The roads are pretty treacherous getting there. Give yourself at least 45 minutes from HWY 201.This is a GREAT place for fisherman or people who want to really get away from the world. There is no cell coverage and the pay phone out there is out of order.It is NOT a family friendly place. Our kids enjoyed staying at the camp site, but there is really nothing much for little kids to do.Beware of the moths! We left an entire day early because we had more moths crawling into our camper then we could get rid of. There were literally hundreds of them hiding under our mattresses, camp chairs, and everywhere. We drove home and exacted our revenge with the shop vac! Last, we couldn't find our park host when we needed them. Their sign said on duty, but we never saw them. A ranger came by once who helped us out. So plan to be on your own.The rangers will sell you wood for $5 and there is a small store, but it has bait, milk, ice, and a few other items.The closest gas station/supply store is at the corner of HWY 201 and Owyhee Avenue.Directions from Nyssa: Take HWY 201 south. Turn right on Owyhee Avenue. Veer left on to Owyhee Lake Rd. Drive 20 miles until you hit the park.Directions from Homedale: Take HWY 201 north. Turn left on Overstreet Rd (there's a State Park sign). Turn left on Owyhee Lake Rd. Drive 18 miles until you hit the park.