Murtha Ranch
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Hikes including this destination:
- Murtha Ranch Loop Hike (TH | <— —> | LOG)
- Weather forecast: NWS/NOAA
- Maps: Oregon Hikers Maps Google Maps
- Latitude, Longitude: 45.4794, -120.4640
- Elevation: 530 feet
Description
The 8,000 acre Murtha Ranch was purchased by the Western Rivers Conservancy in 2008, who then sold it, in a process that began in 2009, to Oregon State Parks to begin the formation of Cottonwood Canyon State Park. The conservancy's objective was to ensure the protection of grassland bird, mammal, and reptile species as well as keep the waters of the John Day pristine. The former ranch land is home to Oregon's largest herd of bighorn sheep and the river here offers world-class steelhead and smallmouth bass fishing.
The Murtha family ran cattle here and on adjacent BLM land for generations. Flats along the John Day, Oregon's longest undammed river, were cultivated. In the main ranch complex, now the day-use area for Cottonwood Canyon State Park, you can follow interpretive signs past a barn and windmill. There's also a new visitor center and covered picnic area as well as some rusting farm equipment.
More Links
- "Murtha Ranch sells to Western Rivers Conservancy" (The Times-Journal)
- "Lower John Day River, OR - Murtha Ranch: Transforming a Cattle Ranch into a Fishery" (Northwest Fly Fishing)
Contributors
bobcat (creator)