Original Article by Hangry Backpaker, September 19, 2020

Baker City, Oregon is an underrated travel destination. To be fair, Baker City may not be on many tourist radars or even rated at all. There’s something unique about this place, though, and it is well worth a stop for roadtrippers, American culture enthusiasts and anyone who wants to see a different side – the real side – of Oregon.
Baker City, Oregon may not be a sought-after, world-famous or major travel destination. The small city of less than 10,000 people may not even be the most popular place to travel in Northeast Oregon. (I would look to the little town of Joseph and the Wallowa Mountains for that distinction.)

Why Travel to Baker City, Oregon?

In Northeast Oregon, on the 45th parallel of the Northern Hemisphere – for all intents and purposes, essentially a different country, a different world, and a long way from the Willamette Valley and Interstate- 5 population centers – Baker City quietly sits about 3500 feet above sea-level. This is not a luxurious tourist town, and the only kind of backpacking is the outdoorsy, backcountry variety.

So why travel to Oregon and take a detour to Baker City? Why would I – the Hangry Backpacker – a food-minded, backpacking-focused travel enthusiast (bordering on obsessive and annoying, I freely admit) want to go to way out to rural Oregon?

For one…