The Grande Ronde River is a tributary of the Snake River, 212 miles long, in northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington. It drains the Blue Mountains on the Columbia Plateau. It flows through scenic canyons in its lower course. The river enters the Snake River 493 miles from the mouth of the Columbia River. In 1988, the U.S. Congress designated approximately 44 miles of the Grande Ronde, from its confluence with the Wallowa River to the Oregon-Washington border, as a National Wild and Scenic River. The river today is popular destination for hunting mule deer, elk, black bear, cougar, and bighorn sheep. Fishing, rafting and hiking are also popular. Most of the middle reaches of the river are inaccessible to motor vehicles.