Lower Crooked River Back Country Byway
BLM Back Country Byway 45 mi in Oregon.
About the Lower Crooked River Back Country Byway
Just 40 minutes east of the hubbub of Bend, Oregon, sleepy Highway 27 winds 43 miles north from Highway 20 to the city of Prineville. Although the entire route is a state highway, the southernmost 18 miles are unpaved but are of high-standard graded gravel suitable for a passenger vehicle. Private ranches are interspersed among public rangelands with views of rolling hills and towering basaltic buttes. After the paved section begins, the back country byway crosses the spillway of Bowman Dam before descending into the gorge of the Chimney Rock segment of the Crooked Wild and Scenic River with its dozen recreation sites. Here, access to camping, fishing and hiking opportunities are available year-round.
Bureau of Land Management's own description, in its words. Byway page on blm.gov.
Camping along the byway
- Mile 12 · on the roadCastle Rock Campground · Bureau of Land Management
- Mile 13 · on the roadStillwater Campground · Bureau of Land Management
- Mile 15 · on the roadLone Pine Campground · Bureau of Land Management · 6 sites
- Mile 16 · on the roadChimney Rock Campground · Bureau of Land Management
- Mile 17 · on the roadPost Pile Campground · Bureau of Land Management · 7 sites
- Mile 18 · on the roadPoison Butte Campground · Bureau of Land Management · 5 sites
- Mile 19 · 3.3 mi offPrineville Reservoir State Park · State park · 64 sites · reservable
- Mile 19 · on the roadBig Bend Campground · Bureau of Land Management · 13 sites
- Mile 20 · 4.8 mi offJasper Point Campground · State park · 25 sites · reservable
Public campgrounds within 5 miles of the road as the crow flies, in order along the byway; each one's page has its facts, season and weather by month.
About this page's facts
The line is the Federal Highway Administration's scenic byways layer (HEPGIS, a snapshot of 2022-06-24, a US government work), cut at the state line and simplified for the map; the length is the line's. The designation is the program's own: the national tiers from FHWA's America's Byways roster, the rest from the layer's designation field. Road conditions, closures and seasonal gates change: check the agency's own page and the state's road conditions before you go.