[Wildflower Hikes and Trips of Harney County, OR]
Wildflowers of Idlewild Campground

Malheur National Forest

Green Towhee

Green-tailed Towhee: Pipilo chlorurus
Idlewild Campground is a mostly shady campground located north of Burns, OR in the southern Malheur National Forest. The large ponderosa pines here provide a cool place to camp when visiting the northern portion of Harney County. There is a mix of shrub scrub and wetland habitats around the campground which helps provide a nice mix of plants and animals representative of the area. Expect to find gray jays (camp robbers), Clark's nutcrackers, northern pygmy-owls, green-tailed towhees (See photo above.) and most of the other forest birds. Common poorwills, nighthawks and flammulated owls can sometimes be heard at night.

There are 6 campsites dedicated to tents with an addition 19 campsites which can be used by tents or RVs. All the campsites have tables while most have cooking grilles. There are several gray water disposal sites scattered through the campground along with several water faucets. There are also several vault toiltets available although the only wheelchair friendly toilet is at the day use area. The campground tends to be open from May 20 through November 1. The campground is a fee site with 2010 rates $7.00 per day with a maximum permitted stay of 14 days.

Access:

From downtown Burns, drive north on US Highway 395 for 14.2 miles. Turn right (east) into the campground.

Nature and Hiking Trails:

Idlewild Loop: Accessible via foot or mountain bike. This trail is 0.8 miles long and it circmnavigates the campground. It is useful both for birding as well as exploring the wildflowers of the campground. There is a central wetland meadow which has flowers from late May into early July, depending on the weather.

Devine Summit Interpretive Trail: Used by hikers, horse traffic & mountain bikes. 2 miles in length.

Microwave Tower: Used by hikers, horse traffic and mountain bikes. 2.5 miles in length.

King Mt. Lookout: Elevation - 6670'. The lookout tower is staffed as needed during fire season, so they might allow you to view the surrounding country. Provides wide views of the surrounding country with good wildflower slopes. Possibility of some back country hiking across the open slopes. See link for directions.

Plant Lists:

June 27, 2000: Idlewild Campground

Partial Flora for Idlewild Campground

Paul Slichter