Site 7 ★ Canyon Creek

Site 7 ★ Canyon Creek. Main Oregon Trail Back County Byway. August 4th "This day we traveled nineteen miles over tolerably rough road ... After watering, we traveled eight and a half miles, which brought us to a barrel creek (Canyon Creek). Here we found a small creek running through a barrel-shaped valley, which is surrounded by rock bluffs about twenty feet high. We nooned at Barrel Creek..." P.V. Crawford, 1851 , Canyon Creek was a popular camping area along the Oregon Trail. After traveling 12 miles across the rocky desert, most emigrants stopped and camped in this small valley. Often crowded with emigrant wagons, the animals had to be taken a mile upstream to find grass. , The round shape and steep walls reminded many of a barrel. In spite of the guidebooks, Canyon Creek was called by many names, including Barrel Creek, Barrell Creek, Bearl Camp Creek, Barrow Creek, Carrol Creek, Lake Creek, Lake River, Rock Creek, Charlottes Creek, Shillot Creek, and Peters Spring.