Grand Ronde River at Hilgard Junction State Park

SWIMMING IS UNADVISABLE DUE TO HIGH WATER LEVELS AND UNSAFE RUNOFF

The Grande Ronde River is a tributary of the Snake River, 182 miles (293 km) long, in northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington. It drains an area southeast of the Blue Mountains and northwest of the Wallowa Mountains, on the Columbia Plateau. The Grande Ronde River rises in the Blue Mountains near the Anthony Lakes recreation area in the Wallowa–Whitman National Forest in southwestern Union County approximately 20 miles (32 km) south of La Grande. The river today is a popular destination for hunting, especially for game animals such as mule deer, elk, black bear, cougar, and bighorn sheep. Fishing, rafting, and hiking are also popular along the designated Wild and Scenic portion of the river. Most of the middle reaches of the river are inaccessible to motor vehicles. The Grand Ronde River supports populations of spring chinook salmon, summer steelhead, bull trout, mountain whitefish, as well as other species. The river has a sport steelhead fishery and has some tribal fishing for spring chinook.

Facilities: Paved parking (can accommodate self-contained RVs) and Restrooms are present on site.

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Water Quality

Passed water quality tests at least 95% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on July 11th, 2022. Snake River Waterkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on July 11th, 2022 at 12:05 PM.

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Current Weather

14°C

Mostly clear

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

There is currently very limited water quality monitoring of Idaho's inland swim sites. The federal Beach Act does not cover freshwater or riverine beaches, and states in the Basin do not monitor Snake River swimming beaches or recreational access sites.

As part of its Water Quality Program, Snake River Waterkeeper monitors water quality at more than 100 sites on the Snake River and its tributaries for temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity/conductivity/total dissolved solids, ammonia, and nitrates. Data are collected at sample sites June-October and assigned safety ratings based on comparison to EPA's Recreational Water Quality Criteria for Human Health:

pH: 5 – 9 µg/L
Salinity/Conductivity/Total Dissolved Solids: 500 mg/L
Nitrates: 10 mg/L

A site is marked Green when single sample results meet all Human Health Criteria.
A site is marked Red when the results are equal to or above Human Health Criteria.
A site is marked Grey when there are no current results or no available information.
Sites found to exceed EPA's Aquatic Health Criteria are noted in site descriptions.

While criteria measured are useful indicators of contamination, there are many other potential sources of pollution that are not reflected in our Swim Guide, including E.coli and other bacteria, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, and pesticides that harm aquatic life.

Download the free app for smartphone and learn about Swim Guide 3.0 at www.theswimguide.org. To learn more about our efforts to protect and restore the Snake River's water quality, visit www.snakeriverwaterkeeper.org.

Water Quality Graph