South of Steens Mountain is Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge. Hart Mountain is a fault block ridge contained within a 422 square mile refuge. The refuge is predominantly high desert but also contains a large wetland area at the base of the mountain.
We camped one night, hiked a bit near the campground (Hot Springs Campground) and took advantage of a natural hot spring surrounded by low man-made walls. The campground was soggy and probably a better fit for a camp trailer. While camping, we managed to spot several small groups of pronghorn antelope and a herd of bighorn sheep.
On our way out of the refuge, we hiked around Petroglyph Lake. The west side of the lake is rimmed by basalt boulders. The basalt was carved over 10,000 years ago by some of the people living in the area. We were able to spot at least 10 petroglyphs, many of animals. We hiked back to the car on the top of the rim. A variety of desert wildflowers were in bloom. We also spotted what seemed to be intentional circular arrangements of rocks.
If we were to visit Hart Mountain again, we would like to explore more of the refuge and hike to the top of the mountain (~8,000 feet). The refuge is fairly isolated. It is important to have water and emergency supplies. The road to Petroglyph Lake was a bit of a challenge for the car and this appears to be true of the majority of roads in the refuge.
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