A peaceful park at the edge of busy Wallowa Lake

In the warmer months of the year, tiny Joseph can be an incredibly busy place.

Crowds tend to gather around Wallowa Lake, just south of town, an attraction that's accessible by the enormously popular Wallowa Lake State Park on the southern end, and the bustling Wallowa County Park on the north side.

But stay just north of the lake, and you can find a quiet respite in the busy area: Iwetemlaykin (ee-weh-TEMM-lye-kinn) State Heritage Site.

Until recently, the 62-acre park was private property - a beautiful stretch of hilly grassland, dotted with firs, in the shadow of the majestic Wallowa Mountains. The Wallowa River runs along the boundary of the site, and a small creek runs through it. The primary water feature, however, is Knight's Pond, a small but lovely pool, around which the trails loop on their crisscross path through the park.

The entire trail system is less than a mile long, leading from a parking area on the side of Route 351, around the pond, and to South Main St. on the southern end of Joseph. A side trail takes you to a separate entrance on the side of the highway, where a short walk along the gravel shoulder leads to the Old Chief Joseph Gravesite, officially part of the multi-state Nez Perce National Historical Park.

You could see it all in an hour, but you'd do well to take your time. The laid-back nature of Iwetemlaykin practically demands it, and before you know it, your swift stride can turn into a slow shuffle.

When I visited in late July, the sun was in the middle of its long journey down toward the Wallowa Mountains, casting the dry fields of grass in a deep shade of amber, the rugged peaks in silhouette just across the river. A small wooden bridge crossed the quiet creek in the park, its shallows glowing in the evening sun.

At Knight's Pond, I passed a pair of dog walkers and a woman walking slowly along the trail. After we exchanged pleasantries, she looked out at the water and told me she used to own this land.

Her family lived there for years, she said, but in 2007 they sold it to a group of organizations that included Oregon Parks and Recreation, the Nez Perce Tribe, National Park Service, Oregon State Parks Trust and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville and Umatilla Reservations. Two years later, it opened as a public park.

It felt good to be back, she said - like seeing an old friend. You could see it in her eyes: a longing intermingled with joy. She was at peace in this place, no matter who owned it.

I walked on after we bid each other farewell, the sun still slowly setting over the park. If there were sounds of motor boats and shouting people on the wind, they didn't penetrate the realm of peaceful quiet of Iwetemlaykin. I could see why its previous steward felt a sense of longing coming back.

The name of the park is Nez Perce for "at the edge of the lake," according to the parks department, but strolling along the network of trails, it felt like a world away.

--Jamie Hale | jhale@oregonian.com | @HaleJamesB