Pendleton, OR and the Columbia River about 40 miles northwest are scenic areas and today I-84 makes for easy traveling, but the emigrants had to deal with the Blue Mountain Crossing (summit about 35 miles southeast) and Deadman Pass. Nestled in an old-growth forest, Emigrant Springs (now a state park about 25 road miles southeast) was a popular pioneer stop-over for travelers along the Oregon Trail.
Pendleton today is most noted for the famous Pendleton Woolen Mills. Also visit the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute, the only Indian-owned interpretive facility on the Oregon National Historic Trail, telling the story in the words of the local indigenous people.