From the parking area cross the John Day Highway [Hwy 26] and pick up Grant County Road 42 [paved]. The road is lined by farms with hay fields and grazing cattle. Hills pop up to your left and right and the South Fork of the John Day River is to your left. We saw a gang of wild turkeys here.(Micro-video)

This gravelled Back Country Byway parallels the Wild and Scenic South Fork John Day River through its incised canyon for a distance of 50 miles from its northern terminus at Dayville to the northern border of Malheur National Forest to the south. This drive takes visitors through deep canyons of Columbia River Basalts, through stands of old growth ponderosa pines, Douglas and white fir, and willows that line the road. The river itself contains beautiful rapids and the Izee Falls, which drops 56 feet vertically.

Along the way, you’ll pass the Aldrich Mountain Wilderness Study Area as well as the Black Canyon Wilderness, two areas with ample opportunities for hiking, hunting and wildlife viewing. The Murderer’s Creek area has plentiful wildlife, including deer, elk, black bear, coyotes, bighorn sheep, and upland birds. [Bureau of Land Management]

At ~ mile 1.5 the road turns to gravel. It is wide, two lanes, with some loose gravel overlay. This sector of the ride probably sees the most traffic due to the ranch houses and thus, is a bit washboarded. With a bit of effort you can usually, not all the time, find a good line.(Micro-video) The road gradually climbs as it is heading up river.

Just after mile 9, the road splits. County Road 42 goes to the right and NF 17 goes left. Go left, climb a short pitch. The road surface changes dramatically. It is now a hard packed brown, clay based road with just a smattering of gravel. No washboard. The riding is fast and scenic.

Soon you enter a box canyon with black rock walls jutting up on both sides of you.(Micro-video) The road twists and turns following the river. At mile 12 is a trailhead leading into Black Canyon Wilderness area.

A remote 13,400 acre wilderness offering solitude and hillsides dominated by mixed conifer and stands of park-like ponderosa pine. Ridge-tops are predominantly open sagebrush with some mountain mahogany. Deer and elk are common year round. The lucky observer may also see bear, coyote, mountain lion, or possibly wolverines! Beware of rattlesnakes, especially in stream bottoms. [US Forest Service]

At mile 14.5, make a 90 degree left onto a single lane dirt road. The turn is marked by a sign for the Phillip W. Schneider Wildlife Area (Murderers Creek access). Initially the road hugs Murderers Creek and is bounded by steep walls of several hundred feet high.(Micro-video) A fire swept through the area in 2011, as marked by many of the trees being charred black.

The Phillip W. Schneider Wildlife Area provides winter range for mule deer populations and year-round habitat for elk, deer, and bighorn sheep. Native habitats include sagebrush shrubland, riparian, ponderosa pine forest, western juniper woodland and mixed conifer. The riparian areas along the South Fork John Day River and Murderers Creek provide excellent habitat for many birds. [Phillip W. Schneider Wildlife Area]

About a mile in, there is junction. The roads re-join is 0.5 miles. The left hand road [the one that climbs] is the safe bet in the spring as it avoids several seasonal creek crossings. The right hand road, is our road of choice in the fall. Just after this first option, there is a second. The same logic applies.

After the roads come together again, the steep looming walls move out and away revealing a large flood plain, Murderers Creek Basin. Trees are scarce and the riding is in the open and exposed … but gorgeous! It is 3 more miles to the Murderers Creek Ranch. As you get close to the ranch, you pass through a gate. Be sure to close it, and keep the cattle in the appropriate grazing areas. [Yes,there are cattle on this ride who may want to share the road with you!(Micro-video) At the ranch, be sure to sure to explore the out buildings. The inside texture and light is special.

Get re-fueled and ready to turn around.

The ride back out goes like this … lumpy, rock terrain, more than you remember riding in on … the awesome Black Canyon section … and the last 9 miles of scenic county road with some annoying washboard [it really isn’t that bad!].