Owyhee County

            Field  Trips

Come explore Owyhee County history with us! The museum hosts exciting field trips throughout the county and surrounding areas May through September.

Upcoming Trips

 Check out the 2026 Field Trips below! We have a great line up this year. We hope you can join us for one of these trips.

The trips are always free and donations are appreciated. Most times we will have our mobile restroom trailer with us. We also do a potluck lunch that everyone can pitch in on.

April 18th: Gfeller Casemakers

Time: 10:00 AM

  • Meet at the Marsing City Park and we will walk up to 218 Main St. They’ve asked that we park at the City Park prior to our visit to minimize congestion on Main St.

  • Gfeller has been making functional leather goods, particularly for geologists, engineers and other field professionals, for over 80 years. We’ll learn about the history of the company, their products, and the production techniques they use to stay in business all these years. Afterwards, we’ll have a potluck around the corner in the Park. Gfeller will provide table service and water.

 

 

May 16th: Owyhee County Pioneer Cemeteries, Part 1

time: 9:00 AM

  • Meet at Meet at Dan’s Ferry Service, 1984 ID Hwy 45
  • Jerry Hoagland, local rancher and member of the Owyhee County Cemetery District will take us on a tour of sites along the Snake River Valley. We’ll visit Wilson Cemetery, Reynolds Cemetery, Castle Creek Cemetery in Oreana  and Bruneau Pioneer Cemetery. We’ll have a potluck at the Owyhee County Museum after visiting the Reynolds Cemetery.

 

June 13th: Pershing Missile Site and Oreana.

time: 10 AM

  • Meet at Cindy’s Cafe in Grand View.
  • We’ll head south from town to visit the remains, and learn a bit of the history of the only Pershing II missile site in Idaho. From there, we’ll follow the Oreana Cut-off Rd to Oreana. We will take Spivey Rd up to an old CCC dam. This location is a little harder to navigate and a 4X4 vehicle with good clearance is a must; we will carpool for this portion of the trip. Anna Price, local historian, will give us some history of the damsite. Then we’ll head back to Oreana and have a potluck lunch at the Oreana Community Hall. This hall dates back to 1932. Finally, we will tour Our Lady, Queen of Heaven Church, learning it’s unique history, and how it is used today (please be respectful and remove hats while inside the church, and refrain from walking on the altar area). 

 

July: No Tour 

time: 

 

August 15th: South Mountain City and Mine

time 10 AM

Meet at the Jordan Valley City Park on Hwy 95.

Jim Collard, geologist, historian and COO of Thunder Mountain Gold will take us up to the town and mine site. We’ll hear about the history of South Mountain City and the historic mining that’s taken place, then have a tour of current mining activites. We’ll have a potluck on site.

Sept. 12th: Poison Creek Way station, The Rocks Way station and Squaw Creek Ranch site.

time: 10 AM

Meet at the Chevron, 5644 Buntrock Rd, Marsing.

Judy Hudson, local historian and author will take our tour to the Poison Creek Waystation. Her great grandparents built the currrent stone structure in 1914 and she’ll relate oral and written family history of the site and the stage route. Then we’ll drive through Sands Basin to the site of The Rocks, a waystation on McBride Creek established in the late 1800s. Only the foundation remains of the structure her grandparents built around 1903, but Judy will talk about the history of the site. We’ll have a potluck here. We’ll end our tour on Hwy 95 at the site of the Squaw Creek Ranch, homesteaded by her grandfather.

 

Oct. 10th: 45 Ranch.

time: 9AM, Mountain Time

  • Meet at Our Grocery Store, Owyhee, NV.
    Please contact Michael Ciscell by Oct 1 if you plan to come as we need a head count for lunch.
    We’ll drive 2 1/2 hrs on mostly good gravel roads to the Ranch, located along the South Fork of the Owyhee River. Some clearance is required, so no sedans. Once at the Ranch, we’ll be treated to lunch by the new owners, the Jim Richmond Backcountry Aviation Foundation. We’ll be hearing about the history of the ranch, plans for making it more accessible, tour some of the historic buildings, see petroglyphs and pictographs, and learn about back country aviation and airstrips in Owyhee County and Idaho. This will be a full day. Camping (no hookups, no RVs) is available at the ranch for those who’d like to come early, or stay an extra day. For information on reserving a site, or if you have the means to fly in, contact JRBAF at jimrichmondfoundation@gmail.com. There is also the Arrowhead Inn and RV sites at Our Grocery Store, both in Owyhee, for additional lodging options.