Ochoco West, OR

Ochoco West is a census-designated place in Crook County, Oregon, on the west side of the Lytle Creek valley at the foot of the Ochoco Mountains. The community lies about three miles northeast of U.S. 26, ten miles northwest of Prineville, and twenty-three miles southeast of Madras. Lytle Creek flows south toward the Crooked River, giving the settlement a natural line through the high-desert landscape of juniper, pine, open range, and dry hills.

Most daily trips run toward Prineville for schools, shops, county offices, and work, while the roads east lead into the Ochoco country. The Ochoco West Water and Sanitary Authority handles the practical systems that make a dispersed community work, and local homes sit among ranch parcels and mountain views. Crook County's outdoor life is close at hand, from creek corridors to forest roads and public-land routes. Ochoco West is a Central Oregon foothill community whose character comes from water, distance, and the broad transition between the Crooked River basin and the Ochoco Mountains.