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All the United States Oregon Silver Lake Cowboy Dinner Tree
AO Edited Gastro Obscura

Cowboy Dinner Tree

Eat like a "buckaroo" at this remote restaurant.

Silver Lake, Oregon

Added By
Scott Mansfield
Email
Been Here
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  Scott Mansfield / Atlas Obscura User
  Scott Mansfield / Atlas Obscura User
Entree choices include an entire roast chicken.   Scott Mansfield / Atlas Obscura User
Look for the sign on County Rd. 4-12, /Forest Service Rd. 28.   H Dragon
Cowboy Dinner Tree is open year around, snow permitting.   Loren Kerns
Entrees are cooked on a repurposed propane tank.   Scott Mansfield / Atlas Obscura User
  Scott Mansfield / Atlas Obscura User
Interior of the Cowboy Dinner Tree.   Scott Mansfield / Atlas Obscura User
Enjoy the quiet beauty of central Oregon’s high desert.   Scott Mansfield / Atlas Obscura User
Feel free to work on your roping skills.   Scott Mansfield / Atlas Obscura User
Entree choices include over two pounds of sirloin.   Scott Mansfield / Atlas Obscura User
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About

In generations past, Central Oregon cattle ranchers drove their herds from seasonal pastures around Paisley, Summer Lake, and Silver Lake to the greenery at Sycan Marsh. Halfway along the trail stood a large juniper tree where a waiting chuck wagon served beans and biscuits to the hungry cowboys, known as buckaroos in Oregon.

Today, a rustic restaurant has replaced the chuck wagon by the juniper tree, serving huge dinners that would make the herders drool. (It's hard to verify that a chuckwagon set up shop at that exact spot, but it was certainly the site of ranching and cattle drives.) While the fare is an upgrade from a chuckwagon's beans and biscuits, the low-ceilinged, wood-planked restaurant resembles a tack room more than a dining room. And the menu, well, there’s no menu.

Patrons have a choice of coffee, water, pink lemonade, or ice tea to drink; honey mustard or ranch dressing for the salad; and soup or beans as a side. Entree choices are a 26-30 ounce sirloin steak or an entire roast chicken. The meal also comes with yeast rolls and a baked potato big enough to choke a horse. For dessert, there’s a slice of cake topped with berries. Mercifully, the staff provides plastic bags for leftovers.

It’s a long and beautiful ride to the restaurant from almost anywhere, which gives you plenty of time to appreciate the beauty of the high desert and the life of ranchers, past and present.

Related Tags

Wild West Cowboys Restaurants Unique Restaurants & Bars Food

Know Before You Go

You need reservations (no walk-ins) and to specify your entree in advance; cash only (no credit or debit cards); no splitting a dinner; no soda or alcohol served (though you can bring your own).

There are a few rustic cabins on the property available for rent, and the restaurant has a basic airstrip if you'd like to fly in.

Consider bringing a cooler for your leftovers. It's a long drive home!

Community Contributors

Added By

Scott Mansfield

Published

June 8, 2022

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Sources
  • https://foresthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/HISTORY-OF-THE-FREMONT-NATIONAL-FOREST.pdf
  • https://www.cvlakeside.com/post/everything-you-need-to-know-about-cowboy-dinner-tree
  • https://thatoregonlife.com/2016/09/cowboy-dinner-tree/
  • https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/oregon/one-of-the-most-rustic-restaurants-in-oregon-is-also-one-of-the-most-delicious/
  • https://1859oregonmagazine.com/explore-oregon/recreation/from-where-i-stand-silver-lake-oregon-angel-roscoe/
  • https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/buckaroos/#.YqDknZrMJhA
Cowboy Dinner Tree
50836 E. Bay Road County Rd 4
Silver Lake, Oregon, 97638
United States
43.063942, -121.058306
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Fremont Point

Summer Lake, Oregon

miles away

Fort Rock

Fort Rock, Oregon

miles away

Hole in the Ground

Lake, Oregon

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Silver Lake

Silver Lake

Oregon

Places 2

Nearby Places

Fremont Point

Summer Lake, Oregon

miles away

Fort Rock

Fort Rock, Oregon

miles away

Hole in the Ground

Lake, Oregon

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Silver Lake

Silver Lake

Oregon

Places 2

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