Hells Canyon National Recreation Area

Hells Canyon National Recreation Area is heaven on earth to the hikers, campers, rafters and boaters who have experienced its many faces.

Hells Canyon, North America's deepest river gorge, encompasses a vast and remote region with dramatic changes in elevation, terrain, climate and vegetation. Carved by the great Snake River, Hells Canyon plunges more than a mile below Oregon's west rim, and 8,000 feet below snowcapped He Devil Peak of Idaho's Seven Devils Mountains. There are no roads across Hells Canyon's 10-mile wide expanse, and only three roads in the state that lead to the Snake River between Hells Canyon Dam and the Oregon-Washington boundary.

Trip tip: Be on the lookout for bear, elk, mule deer, big horn sheep and eagles as well as wild flowers, ancient pictographs and log cabins left by prospectors, miners and 19th century settlers.