About this place
The Hat Point Trailhead sits on the edge of the Hells Canyon Wilderness, near the Hat Point Day Use Area and Overlook.
There are two parking areas. An upper one for the day, and a lower one for longer stays, with stock facilities.
Hat Point Trail #1752 is the main way down into the canyon and to the Wild and Scenic Snake River.
All of this is inside the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.
There is no water here. Restrooms are nearby.
The facts
- Cost
- Free to camp
- Roads around it
- Some need high clearance
- Drinking water
- No, bring your own
- Toilet
- Yes
- Type
- Specific campsite
- Managed by
- Wallowa Whitman National Forest
The roads around this place are not maintained for a regular car. That comes from the US Forest Service, who grade every road by the kind of vehicle it is looked after for. Those records cover the roads nearby. They do not cover the last stretch in to the campsite, and nobody has checked that part. Treat this as a warning. We are not promising what you will find when you get there. If you have driven it, tell us what it was like and we will say so here.
Rules and restrictions
This site sits inside the Hells Canyon Wilderness. Wilderness is a legal label with rules attached, and the main rule is that machinery stays out.
So no motor vehicles, no bicycles, no carts, no hang gliders and no other mechanical equipment.
Getting there
Coordinates 45.437139, -116.665078
Open in Google Maps Agency page
What is near here
Nothing nationally famous is close. These are the landmarks nearby.
- Hells Canyon Directions
- Wallowa Lake Directions
- Mount Howard Directions
Every distance on this page is the driving distance. A short distance can still take a long time. The road may be closed for the season, covered in snow, or washed out. Many of these roads are dirt. Plan your route before you leave home. Out here there is often no phone signal to look it up on the way.
Nearest town and supplies
- Riggins, ID Directions
- Joseph, OR Directions
Joseph is big enough that you’d normally expect fuel and somewhere to buy food. Nobody from here has been to check, so don’t count on it if you’re running low.
Have you been here?
Fees and access change, and the records do not always keep up. If you have been, tell us what you found.
Thank you, that is recorded. It helps the next person.
Add road notes for this site
The thing we cannot get from any government record is what the drive in is actually like. If you have done it, this is the most useful thing you can leave behind. We read everything before it appears, and we print a first name with it if you give one.
Thank you. A person will read it before it goes on the page.
Where this information comes from
The description on this page is ours. The facts in it, and the fee and facility details below it, come from the Forest Service’s own records, read in August 2026.