image_123650291_4.JPG

The highest paved road in Eastern Oregon is open for the season.

Workers from Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort used a snowplow to push through remaining drifts on the Elkhorn Drive Scenic Byway on June 10. The road is now open over its entire route, said Peter Johnson, president of Anthony Lakes Outdoor Recreation Association.

The 106-mile byway, which starts in Baker City, circles the Elkhorn Mountains.

The road crosses 7,392-foot Elkhorn Summit a couple miles west of the ski area. That’s the second-highest paved road in Oregon (sections of the Rim Drive in Crater Lake National Park reach about 7,900 feet).

The Elkhorn Byway is not plowed during the summer between the ski area and Granite. Snowdrifts typically remain until well into June or early July. But starting a few years ago, ski area workers have used plows to open the road when only relatively short sections are still snowbound.