Holly's Horse Tales and Trails: Outback Station, Oregon

Monday, May 8, 2023

Outback Station, Oregon

When the spring weather is incredibly bad and then suddenly incredibly good, you decide to go camping in a hurry, but with not too many places to choose from, due to snow levels, I picked the area near the privately owned horse camp called Outback Station, east of La Pine.

You would have to call ahead to see when they officially open for the season, but on this trip I decided to just disperse camp nearby, since there is a good place close to a canyon, with lots of spots.

Hole in the Ground.

My last trip to Outback Station was in 2013, and at that time I surprised the owners by just showing up one day, and they were kind enough to throw up some panels and welcome me and my pony. Back then they had not finished making their place quite as habitable as it is now, with added showers and hookups etc. I stayed for a couple of nights, but wasn't able to write a blog about it, since my camera crapped out after the first day, so I only had a few pictures of the trip.

One of the only pics from my last visit in 2013.

After pulling into my camp spot which was close to Hwy 31, but not so close as to be bothered by traffic, this highway is not busy anyway, I got tacked up and went riding. I decided to head around the west end of the canyon, and then go south. I also made it almost all the way up a nearby butte, but got into some pretty big snow drifts and had to turn around. It was quite a warm day but since it was the first of a few warm days after a dreadfully cold spring, the snow hadn't quite had a chance to melt yet.

My dispersed camping spot.

Looking down into the canyon near my camp spot.

Came across this random water tank, checked it out, but no water came out of the pipe.

Following roads towards the butte.

Halfway up the butte I got some good views of Fort Rock in the distance, and then after getting back to the bottom, I rode around yet another canyon. Eventually I ended up near some private land, which I skirted, and then had to make my way down into the canyon, and back up the other side. It was not particularly steep, but the top of it is pretty much all rock wall, so I had to find a deer trail to pick my way down.

Fort Rock views from atop of the butte.

I had a quiet evening, and the the next day I knew exactly where I was going, passing by the actual horse camp and over to the big attraction of the area which is Hole in the Ground, a giant hole in the earth, (not a meteor crater, but looks like one).

I've been to Hole in the Ground a few times over the years, but this was the first time seeing it with water in the bottom, not much, but a good spot in the dry desert for critters to get their thirst quenched.

Hole in the Ground.

Riding into Hole in the Ground.

Inside Hole in the Ground.

After riding back out up the steepest side, good thing my pony is always in shape, we headed north east, and out into the open land that is near Fort Rock. Fort Rock is a large rock formation, shaped like a fort, and there is a nearby small town of the same name.

There were a few fence lines I had to follow to find gates, and then some more private property to skirt, but the amount of public land out there is immense, and I rode for seven hours that day.

Parked my horse by a tree and took some photos.

Fort Rock.

On the last day I drove back along Highway 31 to the 22 mile marker and parked nearby. There is another butte in that area, which was snow free, and I wanted to explore. It ended up being quite a nice ride, after checking out the top of the butte, which had remnants of an old fire lookout, I then continued along a ridge which went all the way around a really really wide canyon area. Eventually I crossed back over the highway and was going to extend the ride on the other side of the road when I smelled smoke. On a beautiful, warm, fresh air, blue sky day, the forest service decided to do a controlled burn in the exact area I was riding. When the wind picked up it actually got quite nasty for awhile, so I figured I would just go back to my truck a little earlier than planned. When I arrived, the wind shifted and everything cleared up, but by then I was done for the day, and so I headed back home.

Views of the Cascades from atop another butte.

Found a way to ride around the ridge.

Got smoked out by a controlled burn.

For anyone who may want to camp at Outback Station, they have all the amenities you will need, and room for any sized rig. Also if you want to leave horses there, and take a day off from riding, there are some other sights to see in the area. Besides Fort Rock, there is Crack in the Ground, which I have been to, (but can't find my picture of it,) and if you want to explore even farther afield, there are the Sand Dunes and the Lost Forest. The Lost Forest might not seem like a big deal, 9000 acres of ponderosa pine trees, but it is the location that is perplexing, trees like these don't normally grow in this type of dry desert, but this is the remainder of an ancient forest that somehow still survives.