When to visit Wallowas ?

[Aimless]

If one can hike in the vicinity of 10 to12 miles and 2600 ft of elevation gain/loss for an in-and-back trip day hike, it is quite possible to reach some of the finer places in the Wallowas, although you may not have a lot of time to savor those places once you've put in the work of getting there. That's when the trails are free of snow, of course.

[Charley]

If you're going to the Wallowas, i recommend staying as long as possible as a backpacking trip. The fringes of the area are so-so, but views get increasingly better as you make your way into the interior. I'm not sure i've seen much that i could do as a single day hike that would warrant the drive.

Good point. There are several hikes in William Sullivan's book that are bona fide dayhikes. . . but they're mostly limited to the outer reaches of the ranger. Those outer reaches happen to look a lot like the Blue mountain ranges nearby: very pretty, but not the kind of alpine scenery most people think of when they think of "the Wallowas."

It is possible to get big views, and even wildflowers and meadows, on a dayhike there, but it's kinda like telling someone about how great the Cascades are, but then showing them only hikes like Salmon Creek or Ramona Falls. You really have to see the big mountains up close! And most the Wallowa's trailheads are just too far from most of that.