Harney County boasts 10,226 square miles of land with approximately 7,600 friendly, hospitable citizens, who invite you to spend a few days, a month, or a lifetime enjoying the wonders of this vast land.  Harney County is the largest in Oregon and the ninth largest county in the United States. 

Established in 1889, the county seat is Burns, which was named after Scottish poet Robert Burns.  The city of Burns has a population of approximately 3,000 and neighboring Hines has a population of approximately 1,760.  The Burns-Hines area has an average elevation of 4,148 feet.

The area has several community parks and playgrounds, and many other recreational facilities.  Harney County is a gathering place for sportsmen and provides good hunting for elk, antelope, and deer, as well as pheasants, grouse, ducks and geese.  Other events throughout the year draw sports enthusiasts whose interests range from snowmobiling to rodeo.  

The economy of Harney County is made up primarily of ranching, manufacturing and lumber.  The spectacular Steens Mountain draws hikers, geologists and rock climbers from around the country.

The Frenchglen Hotel, an Oregon State Parks Historical Inn, offers lodging and food in an atmosphere reminiscent of the days of the Oregon Trail.  See wild mustangs run free as you drive the south end of Harney County.

There's no doubt about it, Harney County people are outdoor people.  If you're planning on living here, the great outdoors and all of its abundant offerings come with the territory.  Who needs big city lights when Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is in our own back yard?  A lovely place to rest your body and soul with hiking, photography and the study of more than 250 species of birds.

Diamond Craters, northwest of the town of Diamond, exhibits itself as one of the most diverse volcanic features in the nation.

The Steens Mountain, southeast of Burns, rises gently along the Blitzen and Catlow valleys.  Nature puts on her own show, and the programs are free.  See how many wildflowers you can find, or go on a fishing expedition.  Camping, hiking and hunting are unforgettable experiences here in the grandeur of the mountains.  Just below Steens summit is a stark, but beautiful, landscape that includes seasonal playa lakes, hot springs, sand dunes and desert vegetation.

In the Ochoco and Malheur National Forests you'll find unusual pursuits like mushrooming and snowmobiling, unique fire lookouts and plenty of great camping.  For comprehensive information on what's out there to see and do, call the local Forest Service office at (541) 573-4300.

Yes, the "Sunday Drive" is back--and it can happen any day of the week on the 200 mile scenic byway between Burns and Lakeview.  You'll traverse vast rangelands, national forests and mountain ranges.  You'll see swans, deer, antelope, wild mustangs, coyotes and all manner of wildlife.  You'll gaze in wonder at fossil beds and awe inspiring geological formations.  

To take the Auto Tour Loop, begin in Burns/Hines and drive east on Highway 78 to a number of historic sites, such as Crystal Crane Hot Springs and the thunder egg fields along Buchanan Road.  When you're ready, head south on Highway 205 to Wright's Point and Sunset Valley.  You'll discover massive Malheur and Harney Lakes.  Turn east at Narrows and follow the lake's south shore to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.  Then, 15 miles south of the lakes, turn east off Highway 205 onto a 20 mile side road through Diamond Valley.  Just before the town of Diamond, another road leads to Diamond Craters, with its lava tubes, pit craters and cinder cones.

The Steens Mountain National Back Country Byway arrives at the base of Steens Mountain on a 30 mile long fault block.  Follow the Loop Road and view four huge "U"-shaped gorges, along with a dramatic east face that rises abruptly one mile above the Alvord Desert.  Watch for golden eagles.  Seven miles south of Frenchglen on Highway 205, the Lakeview to Steens National Back Country Byway treks westward on Harney County Road #412.  You'll cross Catlow Valley before entering the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge.  Hart Mountain is home to antelope, deer and California bighorn sheep.  Bring someone you love, and do it soon.  Life's too short and southeast Oregon is too beautiful to waste.

Harney County is located where U.S. Highways 395 and 20 converge.  Burns and neighboring Hines are a transportation hub for the region and business centers for Oregon's largest county.  Covering 10,226 square miles, Harney County is Oregon's "Big Country."  Vast rangelands, an immense wildlife refuge, and the 9,670 foot high, 30 mile long specter of Steens Mountain support the claim.  Cattle are still big business on the century-old ranches south of Burns.

Although modern machinery is part of today's scene, you can still see traditional old west cattle drives in the Blitzen Valley.

Malheur Lake, a major nesting and feeding stop on the Pacific Flyway, is the centerpiece of 183,000 acre Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.  Nearly 250 species have been counted on the refuge, which is 32 miles south of Burns, off Oregon Highway 205.  The Refuge headquarters on the south shore of the lake includes a museum displaying nearly 200 mounted bird specimens.  

Photographers and bird watchers can find birds in the fields between Burns and the Harney and Malheur Lakes.  Information and a refuge map are available at the headquarters.  To the east of the of the Refuge and south of Princeton are the Diamond Craters and the Pete French "Round Barn."  

The barn was built in 1883 on the  Pete French Diamond spread northeast of the "P" Ranch headquarters at Frenchglen.  The structure, 100 feet in diameter with a 60-foot lava rock corral inside, is unique and was restored in 1970.  This barn was used by Pete French to train horses in the winter months.

The Diamond Craters, south of Princeton, contain cinder cones, pit craters, lava tubes and lava flows.  In the opinion of many who have visited this area, it has the best and most diverse volcanic features in the United States.  Malheur Cave is a classis example of a large lava tube cave.  The cave is 13 miles east of Princeton and is owned by the Masonic Lodge of Burns.  The cave is 3,000 feet long, and the height varies from 8 feet near the entrance to a maximum of 20 feet far back in the cave.  An underground lake fills the lower end of the cave, and fluctuation can cause the water to raise within 1,000 feet of the entrance.  The McCoy Creek Inn and the historic Hotel Diamond, built by Marion Horton in 1898 and restored in 1986, are located in the small town of Diamond.  Harney County's only State Wayside, Frenchglen Hotel, is located in Frenchglen with a view of the Steens Mountain--Southeastern Oregon's most imposing sight.  A loop drive to the summit follows a route from the valley's desert floor, up the gradual western slope of the massive fault block, passing lakes, meadows and aspen groves.

The largest of four campgrounds along the loop is trout-filled Fish Lake (elev. 7,000 feet).  From the overlooks, you can per into rugged, glacially-carved gorges and see dry Alvord Lake and the Alvord Desert adjacent to the eastern side of the mountain.

The annual Steens Mt. Rim Run & Walk, a 10-K course held the first weekend in August of each year, follows the east rim, finishing at the east rim viewpoint, at an elevation of 9,700 feet.  

The Desert Hiking Trail begins at the Oregon/Nevada border near Denio, Nevada, and follows a 100 mile route through southeastern Harney County to the crest of the Steens Mountain.  It is a part of the Oregon State Parks recreation trail system, and a segment of a proposed national trail.  

South of Steens and Alvord Lake, hikers pass through Fields, an old stagecoach station that is now the site of a one-room school house, a general store and a four-unit motel.  

Borax Lake, located near Fields, is fed by heated artesian water which can be seen boiling up in the middle of the lake.  The water carries an unusually high percentage of dissolved borates.  Borax Lake is the only place on earth where the Borax chub is found.  

Probably the finest and most spectacular fossils found in Harney County occur in a deposit of snow-white diatomaceous earth in the Trout Creek area southeast of Fields.  A number of species of Miocene flora have been obtained by commercial collectors.  The leaf imprint, nearly black, stands out in clear contrast against the snow-white matrix.  

Harney County is also known to be a great place for rock hounds.  An official rock hounding map is available from the Highland Rock and Gift Shop in Burns.

At Glass Butte, located about 50 miles west of Burns, off the highway at milepost 77, you can find obsidian, sheens (silver, gold and rainbow), red, mahogany, flame, fire, lace and more.  

Buchanan thunder eggs can be found at Oard's Service Station, which is 23 miles east of Burns on Highway 20.  The petrified forest areas in the Stinking Water Creek Basin offer the best opportunities for the collector of petrified trees and have been posted by the Federal government to preserve this unusual forest.  The remainder of the basin area contains float material of petrified wood pieces.  Leaf and fish fossils are also found in the basin located south, off Highway 20, past milepost 167 east of Buchanan.

Annual events in the Burns area include:

• The John Scharff Migratory Bird Festival

• Obsidian Days

• Pioneer Day

• Burns Paiute Intertribal Pow Wow

• Country Music Jamboree

• Basque Festival

• Steens Rim Run

• Desert Dash Motorcycle Rally

• Harney County Fair, Rodeo & Race Meet