Crescent City to Grants Pass Highway 199 Road Guide - California & Oregon Redwood Highway

Oregon Gold Country

ZERO ODOMETER at the intersection next to the O’Brien Store.

0.0 O’Brien Store

Black Butte Trail enters the north end of the Siskiyou Wilderness. Located near Cave Junction on Oregon's Redwood Highway 199. 0.7 Waldo Road (right)
This is the beginning of the Jefferson State Scenic Byway, a route that commemorates the efforts to create a separate state from parts of northern California and southern Oregon. The byway ends in Yreka, California near Mount Shasta. The first 15 miles of the Jefferson State Scenic Byway connects to roads and trails into the Red Buttes Wilderness and the Siskiyou Wilderness. The Out and About Tree House Resort near Takilma, Oregon offers tours and family oriented activities. The Siskiyou Wilderness is accessed by the Black Butte Trail (above)

1.4 Turnout - pull over to let faster traffic pass. Note the change in vegetation from a pine forest to tall stands of Douglas fir and then to a dissipated forest of small trees as you cross the Rough and Ready Creek Bridge.

1.9 Rough & Ready Creek Bridge

2.0 Road widens to passing lane. Get in the left lane and start slowing down if you want to turn into the small parking area on the left for the wheelchair accessible trail into Rough and Ready Forest State Park.

2.2 Rough & Ready Forest State Park:
Rough and Ready Forest State Park with Rough and Ready Creek Canyon in background left. Located near Cave Junction, Redwood Highway 199, Oregon. Immediately on the left after crossing the bridge is a parking area for a wheelchair accessible trail into the Rough and Ready Forest State Park and Bureau of Land Management Rough and Ready Botanical Area. This is a unique botanical landscape growing on an alluvial fan that is almost entirely composed of rock from the earth’s upper mantle. The gravel and cobbles are washed out of the Rough and Ready Creek Canyon in the mountains, a watershed entirely contained in one of the largest mantle rock (serpentine) in North America. When water leaves the canyon mouth it spreads out and slows down, depositing the rocks in a fan-shaped deposit. This alluvial fan has more than 40 feet of rock piled up and Rough and Ready Creek Canyon originates in one of the largest serpentine rock outcrops in North America. Cave Junction, Oregon. water drains out of these rocks quickly creating an artificially “arid” environment in a region that gets more than 50 inches of precipitation annually. The challenge of plant growth in this “arid” environment is augmented by the lack of essential plant nutrients in mantle rocks. The combination of “arid” conditions and poor nutrients result in a forest of dwarf trees and plants that are adapted to growing in these conditions. The arid-like conditions prompted the historic Siskiyou Smokejumper Base to be nicknamed the “Gobi Desert”, a name it continues to carry today. The Rough and Ready Creek alluvial fan is about five miles wide and may be the largest alluvial fan in the United States made up almost entirely of mantle rock. The Rough and Ready Forest State Park was established 1937 as the result of efforts by a group of women in the Illinois Valley Garden Club, a notable accomplishment made during the Great Depression.

2.4 Get in the left lane and start slowing down if you want to visit the historic Siskiyou Smokejumper Base.

Siskiyou Smokejumper Base, 1944. All of the crew were consceientous objectors. Cave Junction, Redwood Highway 199, Oregon. 2.6 Smokejumper Way (left):
The Siskiyou Smokejumper Base was the first aerial fire fighting operation in Oregon history and one of the first four bases established when the smokejumping program began in the early 1940s and was closed in 1981. This base is the last of the original four bases in American history that is still standing in its original condition and includes the oldest smokejumper parachute loft in North America. The self guided tour takes about 20 minutes.

2.7 Road narrows to two lanes.

2.8 Rough and Ready Lumber Mill: Watch for mill traffic crossing the road.

3.9 Westside Road: The Rough and Ready Creek alluvial fan ends at about this intersection.

4.1 Bridge over the West Fork of the Illinois River.

5.6 Great Cats World Park (right) has one of the largest collections in the United States of lions, jaguars, tigers, and other large cats. Tours are offered daily.

6.6 Forks of the Illinois River State Park (left):
The two forks of the Illinois River meet at the Forks of the Illinois River State Park on the left. The park offers picnicking and river access.

The road paralleling Highway 199 on the left is part of old Highway 199 built in 1922. The original bridge that was constructed in 1921 was to the left of the present bridge and crossed the river at a lower level, which caused problems during flooding (left picture looking south during the 1955 flood). A second and higher bridge was constructed in 1956. During the construction, the structure collapsed (right). The old bridge can be seen in the background right of this picture. The present bridge was completed in 2007.

6.8 Bridge over the East Fork of the Illinois River

7.1 Siskiyou National Forest Ranger Station (USFS) on the left:

7.2 ZERO ODOMETER at the intersection of Highway 46, the Oregon Caves Highway

The Illinois Valley Visitor Center is located on Highway 46, about 500 from this intersection.

The History Loop Road Guide starts at the visitor center. This is a fourteen loop mile drive that takes you through Oregon’s historic gold rush country and past the valley’s three wineries. Both the History Loop and Oregon Caves Road Guide start on the same page. Look at the bottom of the first section of the tour for Oregon Caves Lodge is a registered National Historic Landmark and is one of three great lodges in Oregon. Located near Cave Junction on Oregon's Redwood Highway 199. the point where these two tours separate.

The Oregon Caves Road Guide also begins at the visitor center and is a guide for the twenty mile drive to Oregon Caves National Monument. Both the History Loop and Oregon Caves Road Guide start on the same page. Look at the bottom of the first section of the tour for the point where these two tours separate. When you return from Oregon Caves you can turn and follow the History Loop back to Cave Junction.

Sucker Gap Trail into the Red Buttes Wilderness near Cave Junction on Oregon's Redwood Highway 199. The Sucker Creek Road Guide follows a gravel surfaced road to the Red Buttes Wilderness. This road begins on the Oregon Caves Highway about 13 miles from Cave Junction. Do not attempt to travel on this road during the winter and early spring when it is typically closed by snow. A Forest Service Map is recommended for any trips you may take off of Highway 46. Maps can be purchased at the visitor center.

The Oregon Caves to Williams Road Guide follows a gravel surfaced road that takes you on a back country route toward Grants Pass. This route begins near the Oregon Caves parking lot and follows gravel surfaced to the town of Williams near Grants Pass, Oregon. Do not attempt to travel on this road during the winter and early spring when it is typically closed by snow. A Forest Service Map is recommended for any trips you may take off of Highway 46. Maps can be purchased at the visitor center.

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Disclaimer: All information in Highway199.org is accurate to the best knowledge of the author. However, conditions in outdoor settings can change dramatically after storms or fires. For this reason, travelers are advised to check current road conditions before traveling through the area, drive responsibly and take measures to understand safety issues in the region. When participating in outdoor activities, always plan and prepare for safe hiking, swimming or any other activities mentioned in the Highway 199 website. More on disclaimer and copyright...