Cottonwood Canyon State Park — Saturday, Apr. 27, 2024

Bob and Barb know all the good places! I’m staying in a Hipcamp cabin in Goldendale and this was less than an hour away. The drive is beautiful and the state park is very well maintained. Apparently they have the biggest herd of big horn sheep in Oregon. We parked at the information center where we grabbed a map. We hiked 0.7 miles along the river until we got to the Pinnacles trail. This is a flat trail that continues to follow the John Day river. We were told the sheep are hiding in the slot canyons for calving but we got lucky to spot a family. Will try to upload pictures later. The Pinnacles trail is closed at the 3 mile mark to allow golden eagle nesting. We saw 5 snakes without rattles. 3-4+feet long and a number of different lizards. We loved this trail. Would be awesome to camp here and explore more!