Stretching from I-84 and US 30 in Baker City, Oregon to US 26 in Austin Junction, Oregon is Oregon Route 7. A scenic highway boasting sections of both the Elkhorn Scenic Byway and the Journey Through Time Scenic Byway , OR 7 runs along the scenic Blue Mountains and wide open ranchlands along its journey through eastern Oregon. Along OR 7, there's also gorgeous views of the surrounding countryside, gold mining and even a ghost town or two. We start our journey in Baker City, the Queen City of the Mines as gold had been discovered there in 1862. Both Baker City and the surrounding Baker County were named to honor Edward Dickinson Baker (1811–1861), who was Oregon’s first senator and the only sitting member of Congress to be killed in the Civil War. The Oregon Trail passed through Baker City as emigrants traveled to settle on the rich farmlands west of the Cascades in the Willamette Valley. Baker City is also notable for the Geiser Grand Hotel , which first opened in 1889 and has...
Because every road has a story.