NPS

Outdoor exhibit at Flagstaff Hill

Flagstaff Hill
National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center - Baker City, Oregon

This 23,000 square-foot interpretive center atop Flagstaff Hill overlooks nearly seven miles of well-preserved Oregon Trail ruts that extend across Virtue Flat southeast of Flagstaff Hill. This arid trail segment, where emigrants fought their way through shoulder-tall sagebrush, tested weary emigrants who had endured four or five difficult days ascending Burnt River. In places, several ruts run parallel, suggesting some teams pulled alongside or ahead of others in the push to reach the Powder River.

But travelers were also greeted with their first site of the Promised Land beyond. From atop Flagstaff Hill, the Blue Mountains beckoned in the distance, assuring emigrants that their long journey from the Missouri would soon end in the long awaited Willamette Valley.

The Bureau of Land Management operates the interpretive center. Living history programs, life-sized dioramas, an amphitheater, and an interpretive trail system support the center's theme of describing life along the trail.