Lake County

Oregon

Lake County, Oregon

Population

8,207

Indigenous Peoples

Major Waterways

Major Employers

Major Attractions

Recreational Activities

  • ATV/OHV riding & dune buggy tours
  • Bicycling
  • Birding
  • Camping
  • Fishing
  • Golf
  • Hang gliding
  • Hiking
  • Hot springs soaking
  • Kayaking, boating, & water skiing
  • Rock climbing
  • Skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, & snowshoeing
  • Stargazing
  • Sunstone mining & rockhounding
  • Swimming
  • Wildlife viewing

Summary

Known as “Oregon’s Outback,” Lake County is situated in southeastern Oregon between Klamath County to the west and Harney County to the east. Above it is Deschutes County. Lake County’s southern border touches both California (Modoc County) and Nevada (Washoe County).

With a mere one person per square mile, Lake County is one of Oregon’s least-populated counties. High desert expanses occupy around 8,300 miles of the county, which is at the northwestern edge of the Great Basin. The area’s dark skies combined with the wide-open landscape and volcanic features makes this frontier-style county a pristine destination for stargazing, camping, and hiking.

Klamath County derives its name from its abundance of lakes, which include the alkali, playa, and natural lakes Lake Abert, Summer Lake, Goose Lake, Alkali Lake, Silver Lake, and Warner Lakes.

Fish cannot survive the high pH, carbonate alkalinity, and high sodium of alkali lakes, so fishers seek out smaller mountain or forest lakes such as Dog Lake, Campbell Lake, Deadhorse Lake, or Heart Lake; the lower-saline Warner Lakes; or the Ana, Thompson, or Drews Reservoirs.

The county seat is Lakeview, Oregon’s tallest town at 4,804 feet. Lake County’s only other city is Paisley.

In 1874, the Oregon Legislature established Lake County from parts of Jackson and Wasco Counties. Eight years later in 1882, Klamath County was carved out of the western portion of Lake County.

Archaeological findings such as Pre-Clovis-era coprolites in Paisley Caves and stone tools, basketry, and sagebrush-bark sandals in Fort Rock Caves indicate indigenous peoples have lived in the region for at least 14,300 years.

When European-Americans first arrived during an 1827 fur expedition led by Hudson’s Bay Company explorer Peter Skene Ogden, the Northern Paiute people were the primary inhabitants. Today, their descendants remain on the land along with the Klamath tribes. Later explorers include John Work in 1832, Colonel J.J. Abert in 1838, and John C. Frémont in 1843.

Ranching dominated early European-American settlements, with conflicts over grazing rights erupting between cattle ranchers and sheepherders (primarily Basque and Irish) in the early twentieth century. Tagged “sheepshooters,” masked cattleman armed with rifles killed large numbers of sheep—including massacring 2,300 sheep one bloody April 1904 night.

In 1899, construction began on the Nevada-California-Oregon (N-C-O) Railway. The 238-mile line from Reno, Nevada, to Lakeview was finally completed in 1912 after thirty-two years. The N-C-O mainline only survived for six years, though, as Western Pacific Railway purchased a sixty-four–mile stretch in 1917 and only kept two segments, converting them to standard gauge. The company later abandoned Reno entirely after moving its headquarters to Alturas, California. Southern Pacific saved the N-C-O by purchasing the financially troubled Western Pacific Railway in 1926 and constructing a new line from Klamath Falls to Alturas.

The 1928 introduction of sawmills in Lakeview led to a burgeoning lumber industry, which benefited from the N-C-O’s connections to California. World War II demands for lumber enhanced this sector, as did postwar economic and population booms. The 1994 Northwest Forest Plan led to a curtailment of logging on federal lands. Today, the lone remaining sawmill in Lakeview stands as a testament to the once-thriving lumber industry.

On May 5, 1945, tragedy struck in Lake County’s Bly when a Japanese balloon bomb killed Elyse Mitchell and five children—the only enemy-caused civilian fatalities to occur on the continent during World War II. A war memorial was erected to honor their memories.

Despite the low rainfall due to the arid ecology, irrigation has enabled the development of an agricultural sector focused on growing alfalfa hay and grain in addition to ranching.

A perlite mine exists in Lakeview, and uranium was previously mined and converted to yellowcake at the Lakeview Mining Company plant. Renewable energy is an emerging industry with a focus on geothermal, solar, and biomass.

Other contributors to Lake County’s economy include health care, the Warner Creek Correctional Facility, and tourism.

Tourists enjoy unique activities such as rockhounding for sunstone (the state gemstone) and obsidian; exploring alkali lakes; fossil-hunting; camping in the high desert; mountaineering in the Warner Mountains; skiing at Warner Canyon Ski Area; and stargazing. In 2024, DarkSky International designated the southern part of Lake County a “dark-sky preserve.”

Natural attractions include volcanic formations such as Abert Rim, one of the highest fault scarps in America; the Christmas Valley Sand Dunes; Crack in the Ground; the Hunter’s Hot Springs; and the protected areas Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge and Deschutes and Fremont-Winema National Forests.

Lake County offers opportunities for rugged individualists to live off-grid and retirees to savor their sunset years in an arid climate surrounded by natural beauty. Farmers and ranchers will appreciate the affordable farmland, and developers and manufacturers will find untapped possibilities for commercial endeavors. Contact Phoenix Appraisal Network today to ask about our expert valuation services for commercial, agricultural, and residential properties in Lake County.

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