You’ll pass the first five points of interest (POIs) while driving from Lakeview to the starting point of the ride. To help you locate them, we’ve noted their distances from the intersection of Highways 395 and 140—roughly downtown Lakeview.

Click on the map at left to expand view.

As you head from Lakeview to the start of the ride, keep an eye to the right side of the road—you’ll see several sculptures along the way.

From west to east, there are at least three pieces: Stagecoach, Cowboy Leaning on Horse, and Bucking Horse.

{Marie – does she have info on this?}

Euro-American settlement of Adel began in the late 1800s, centered around sheep grazing and small cattle ranches. Irish Catholic immigrants worked as shepherds, leaving behind a legacy seen in local surnames and historic churches. A stagecoach line once connected Adel to Fort Bidwell, California, offering service three times a week. The Adel post office was established in 1896. Its name may have come from a landowner’s former sweetheart or a local cow named Leda—spelled backward.

Today, Adel is little more than a one-building ghost town. [Ref: Wikipedia]

Here you pass the southern edge of the Warner Wetlands, a seasonal chain of lakes, marshes, and meadows located in the Warner Valley. These wetlands form when snowmelt and rainfall fill a series of interconnected basins in the spring, creating temporary lakes and marshes. As the seasons shift into summer and fall, the water recedes or dries up, leaving behind dry basins or meadows. Because the valley is a closed basin with no outlet to the ocean, water levels vary greatly depending on the year’s precipitation and evaporation rates.

From DonnaR. “My father owned that land and ran cattle there, as well as at the Shirk Place (as we called it) and up through Post Meadows to the Flook Ranch on Hart Mountain. By the time he sold it, the land had been in our family for three generations—his father and grandfather had come from New Market, County Cork, Ireland.

Some of my favorite childhood memories are from the Barry Ranch and the Shirk Place. Since our mother was an artist, we had the only outhouse around with a beautiful oil painting hanging on the inside wall!”

This property was originally homesteaded during the initial settlement of Lake County in the early 1880s by the Hill family.

David L. Shirk purchased the property in 1883 and built most of the ranch’s extant buildings and structures around 1910. A cattleman by trade, Shirk’s main business at the ranch was said to be horses, and he had a reputation for the “finest horseflesh” in the whole county. Horse raising was a key industry well into the twentieth century before the automobile and mechanized farm machinery were widely available. Early stock was taken from the herds of wild horses that originated from loose animals left by the Spanish. [Ref: Bureau of Land Management]

About 500 feet northwest of the main house, a grave marker sits on a knoll overlooking the valley and ranch. The headstone reads: “Here lies Bill Vickers and J. Gruenke, Shot August 14, 1887.” The exact circumstances of their deaths are unclear. According to local folklore, Vickers was a fugitive murderer joined by Gruenke. They ended up at Shirk’s ranch, where trouble followed. One version of the story claims Shirk returned to find them harassing his wife and killed them during the confrontation, later burying them on the hill.

If you continue riding the dirt road just a bit north of the ranch, you’ll come across an area where the sagebrush stands impressively tall—around 4 to 5 feet. It’s a striking contrast to the shorter sagebrush seen along the route into the Shirk Ranch.

One possible explanation is that cattle are not allowed to open graze north of the ranch, which may have allowed the sagebrush to grow taller. That’s our hypothesis, though it’s not confirmed.

That said, cattle grazing isn’t always harmful to sagebrush. When managed properly, it can coexist with healthy sagebrush ecosystems. Learn more

Doherty Slide is a steep escarpment marking the western edge of Warner Valley. It rises about 1,000 feet (300 meters) above the valley floor, offering wide views of the surrounding high desert, including the Warner Wetlands and distant volcanic peaks. The ridge was originally formed by lava flows and has since been shaped by erosion, creating the dramatic rim seen today. Despite its name, “Slide” does not refer to an actual landslide. Instead, the term likely comes from the slide-like appearance of the rocky slope or early misconceptions about its geological origin.

Doherty Slide is one of Oregon’s most dramatic and challenging drives. This stretch climbs approximately three miles with an 8% grade and no guardrails, featuring sharp drop-offs. Doherty Slide is one of Oregon’s highest drivable mountain passes, with an elevation of 6,240 feet.

Doherty Slide is a world-renowned launch site for hang gliding and paragliding. The consistent updrafts created by the cliff face make it an ideal spot for soaring—especially in summer months.