Blog · October 13, 2026 · Oregon
Union County, Oregon: GIS Map Guide
The free official GIS map for Union County, how to search it, and what the parcel data does and doesn't tell you about owners, acreage and property lines.
Main page: Union County, OR GIS & Parcel Viewer (official map link, Union County facts and neighboring maps).
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If you're pricing land, checking a fence line or tracking down an owner for hunting permission, start with the Union County GIS map. The official parcel map for Union County, Oregon is free and opens without a login.
We'll start with the official link, then cover Elgin and the other towns, land types, property lines and records.
Where to open the official Union County GIS map
Open the statewide ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer and zoom toward Elgin; Union County's parcels are part of that layer. Zoom toward Elgin, click a tax lot, and copy the map and tax lot number for the county's records search. Our Union County, OR page keeps the current link if the official address changes.
Towns, terrain and land across Union County
La Grande is the county seat, and other towns on the map include Cove, Elgin, Imbler, and Island City. You'll also find unincorporated communities, among them Alicel, Camp Elkanah, and Hilgard. The county was organized in 1864 and named for Union, Oregon, so some tracts carry a long chain of deeds. For scale: roughly 2,037 square miles of land and an estimated 25,944 residents as of 2023, per the Census Bureau. Town lots in Cove give way to farm tracts and woodlots within a mile or two, and the roads toward Elgin are lined with small acreage splits.
Who needs this map
A lot of different people around Elgin rely on this map. Small-farm and homestead buyers looking around Hilgard compare tract sizes and shapes on the map before calling a listing agent. Anyone hunting for a buildable lot near Cove can spot unbuilt parcels on the aerial layer and look up who owns them. A builder sizing up an infill lot near Cove can check its width, depth and road frontage in a couple of minutes.
Finding vacant land and acreage in Union County
Try this the next time you're looking for land near Summerville:
- Pan the Union County map with imagery turned on and flag any tract that looks empty.
- For each tract near North Powder, note the parcel ID, the owner and where the tax bill is mailed.
- Size up price by comparing a few similar tracts around Imbler on the assessment records.
- Measure the road frontage on the map; a sliver of frontage on a road outside North Powder may not be enough for a driveway permit.
- Check the flood layer and ask about septic and permits; open land in Union County isn't automatically buildable.
To double-check acreage on a parcel near Hilgard, see how to find the acreage of a property.
What the Union County GIS map shows about lot lines
On rural tracts near Hilgard, the parcel lines can drift from the fences on the ground, sometimes by more than a few feet. Oregon uses the Public Land Survey System, so rural deeds in Union County often describe land by section, township and range, and you can match the call to the grid on the map. For a fence, an addition or a dispute in Union County, budget for a licensed survey; it's the answer a court or a lender will accept.
Where Union County deeds and plats are kept
For land near North Powder, the parcel record is the index; the recorded deed is the source. The office title varies by state (register of deeds, recorder, county clerk or clerk of court), so check the Union County government website for the right one. For subdivision lots in North Powder, the plat book and page on the record leads straight to the recorded plat.
Work and land use in Union County
Of the 736 establishments the Census Bureau counted in Union County for 2022, the biggest groups were construction, retail trade, and other services. The sectors that stand out against the national mix are forestry and logging, agriculture and forestry support services, and transportation equipment manufacturing. Timber is part of the land story around Imbler, so a wooded parcel's value can hinge on when it was last cut. That context helps when you read the parcel pattern around Island City: jobs and land use move together.
Near the county line
If your land is near the edge, check the next county over too: Baker County, Grant County, Umatilla County, and Wallowa County border Union County. The Oregon county list links every neighboring map from Union County.
Quick answers
Why can't I find a recent sale on the Union County map?
A sale in Imbler has to be recorded and then processed for taxes before the map changes, which takes time.
What is the county seat of Union County, Oregon?
La Grande is the county seat.
What if the Union County map won't load?
Reload in a desktop browser; if the ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer still won't open, our Union County page has the current link.
How do I look up a property owner in Union County?
Owner names for parcels from Cove to Imbler are on the ORMAP statewide tax lot viewer; search by address or click the map.
How can I see my lot lines in Union County?
For a lot in Imbler, start with the parcel map, then get the recorded plat; a surveyor sets the exact corners.
Open the official Union County, OR parcel map Union County in the Platbookmapper directory
Not a survey. County GIS and tax parcel maps are assessment and planning layers. They are not a substitute for a recorded plat, deed, or licensed survey, especially for fences, setbacks, or boundary disputes.