La Grande Reservoir

Location

From Interstate 84 eastbound, take exit 270 (Ladd Creek). There is no exit from the westbound side, nor is there a return to the freeway eastbound from this exit. One can exit from the freeway eastbound and return to the freeway westbound (toward La Grande). From the off-ramp, the pavement ends in less than 0.25 miles as the road becomes Forest Road 4300. Follow FR 4300 road for about 5.6 miles past Ladd Canyon Pond, known locally as “the beaver pond,” and to the junction with FR 4305. This junction can be confusing because to stay on FR 4300, one must make a hard left turn while to “turn” onto FR 4305, one must continue straight ahead. Take FR 4305 and follow it for about 14.7 miles. The road into the watershed and the reservoir, road 270, is on the south side of FR 4305 and is gated. Road 4305 is closed about 200 feet beyond the 270. Even if the gate is open, it is closed to motor vehicles; the road is sometimes used by administrative personnel. Park here but do not block the gate. It is only a mile and a half or so to the reservoir as the gray jay flies but following the road on foot it is about 2.2 miles. The hike from the gate to the reservoir includes a total of 546 feet in elevation gain and 65 feet of descent for a net gain of 481 feet. The Reservoir gets regular, if not heavy, use by anglers during summer and the watershed overall gets a lot of use by hunters, both archers and rifle hunters, so one should consider wearing blaze orange during hunting seasons.