Chief Joseph Trail #1803

Dogs Off-leash

Features River/Creek · Views · Waterfall · Wildflowers

Branching off the West Fork Wallowa Trail, the Chief Joseph Trail is named in honor of Chief Joseph (Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt) of the Nez Perce (Niimíipuu). The path contours along the eastern bluff above the roaring West Fork Wallowa River before descending to a wooden bridge spanning a boulder-choked chute.

Across the river, the trail narrows and begins a steady ascent via switchbacks framed by ponderosa pines, Douglas-firs, wax currant, and thickets of mountain huckleberry. Soon you'll reach BC Creek Falls, a rushing cascade where you cross the creek over wooden footplanks set at the base of the falls. Beyond the cascade, you enter the Eagle Cap Wilderness, where breaks in the canopy reveal broad vistas of Wallowa Lake and its East Moraine, a textbook Pleistocene lateral moraine rising nearly 900 feet above the basin.

At a rocky outcrop at 5,450 feet, you'll encounter an open vista overlooking the marina, beach, and southern lakeshore. Continuing straight past a crossing with a steep connector trail ascending from Wallowa Lake State Park, you'll reach another vantage point at 5,800 feet looking northeast across the water toward the rolling Zumwalt Prairie.

Near 6,040 feet, the trail traverses an open talus slope, providing an expansive northern panorama across the entire length of the lake to the terminal moraine and the town of Joseph. After crossing the state park connector once more, the trail climbs onto the approach ridge below Joseph Knob.

Reaching approximately 6,150 feet - about 1,100 feet below the summit of Joseph Knob - you arrive at an ideal turnaround point. The remainder of the trail ahead is lost under fallen trees and brush. This ridge offers clear views east-southeast toward Mount Howard (8,255 ft) and the Wallowa Lake Tramway swath, as well as an unobstructed vista south into the deep, U-shaped glacial canyon of the West Fork Wallowa River.

The lower sections are rich in mountain huckleberry and wax currant beneath ponderosa pines and Douglas-firs. In late summer and early autumn, the huckleberry foliage turns vibrant shades of red and magenta.