It's Truly Small Town Living
Wallowa County, located in the northeast corner of Oregon, is known for its natural beauty, artist community, outdoor recreation, and small town living. It is as rural and frontier as you can get in Oregon. This remoteness is what makes Wallowa County so very special. Due to this, you will find a tight knit community who relies on each other and find ways to work together that you don’t usually see in populated metro regions. When someone is sick or there is a death in a family, you will find a community who pulls together with fundraisers, potlucks, or whatever it takes to help out.
The remoteness also means you won’t find all the amenities typical in more populated metro regions. We are 65 miles from the nearest McDonald's and four hours from a major airport. Instead, you will find a main street with shop owners running their stores, restaurants that serve locally produced food, a small ski hill and local ice rink run by volunteers, neighbors who play music at your local tavern, and community events where everyone attends. After living here a while, when you visit a populated metro region you will find yourself missing Wallowa County and its amenities – like the shop owner who knows your name.
Our schools are small (class sizes average about 20 students) with fewer electives and afterschool opportunities than metro regions but our schools continually receive high State ratings and have some of the highest graduation rates in the State. Many nonprofits have stepped up and offer a variety of afterschool support either in partnership with the schools or on their own. Due to the school size, teachers work diligently to find community members to help students pursue their passions outside of school time. Students have been known to have internships with graphic artists and engineers, to join local rock bands and play at big musical festivals, and start their own businesses. Schools truly see Wallowa County as their classroom and work closely with partners and community members to bring the whole community into schools.
It is the natural beauty that draws people all over the world to Wallowa County. Imagine Eagle Cap Wilderness and Hells Canyon Recreation Area as your backyard and being on a trail within 10 minutes of your home. Or, driving dirt roads out to the largest native bunch grass prairie nature sanctuary to watch hundreds of elk graze. Or, dropping a fishing line in many of the rivers that flow throughout Wallowa County – Imnaha River, Snake River, and Grande Ronde River are just a few. In Wallowa County, there are tons of outdoor opportunities – hunting, fishing, biking, camping, hiking, skiing, rafting, wildlife watching - all within minutes of your home.
The natural beauty is what draws people to this area but it is the people and community that keeps you here. Come join us and Wallowa County – it’s a way of life.
For more information on relocating (e.g. schools, community services, recreation, etc.) to Wallowa County, please visit the Wallowa County Chamber of Commerce.
