City of Elgin Trail Section
The Joseph Branch Trail is open and accessible to all in Elgin, OR!
A big thank you to everyone who celebrated with us!
MAKING AMAZING PROGRESS…!
The Summer of 2025 marks one year of the Elgin City Section of the Joseph Branch Trail. The community has been loving this new addition to town and local volunteer standout Tony Lambert has stepped up as a park steward. Taking good care of the pocket park and trail section for his town as out JBTC team keeps working toward a conditional use permit in Union County to expand the trail-with-rail beyond Elgin city limits in the future. Thank you, Tony!
We need your help! If you are a trail-with-rail supporter and resident of Union County, please contact the County Commissioners’ office to voice your support for this project!
Our organization’s recent efforts on this trail section have been stalled due to an unexpected lack of support from the Wallowa Union Railroad Authority (WURA) regarding submission of our Conditional Use Permit (CUP) application to the Union County Planning Commission.
Union County Commissioner Matt Scarfo is the WURA co-chair for Union County. We NEED local trail supporters to call or write county commissioners and speak out in favor of the trail, so it becomes clear to WURA and to Union County that the majority of residents want to see this trail built in their community. Please spread the word to friends and neighbors that we believe the trail will be a community asset for generations to come, revitalize downtown Elgin businesses, and provide safe and easy access to outdoor recreation.
Please call, voice your support, and urge WURA to support our CUP application moving forward in a public process at the county level.