The First Trails to Oregon Caves
Stories from the heart of the
Siskiyou Mountains, Cave Junction, Oregon
In the first fifty years of Oregon Caves history, the only way to
visit this natural wonder was by traveling on one of three trails.
When the Oregon Caves Highway was constructed in 1922, these trails
fell into disrepair except for a few segments that are still in use
today. These fragments give us an opportunity to hike and see the
area as visitors may have seen it in the first 50 years of Oregon
Caves history.
Clapboard-Grayback-Boundary Trail. 1874 -1884
The first trail used by visitors to get to the caves was probably
the same route that Elijah Davidson used when he came to this area
on a hunting trip and found Oregon Caves in 1874. This route likely
included well traveled pack trails that miners used to bring
supplies from the town of Williams to mining camps on Sucker Creek,
about a mile south of the caves. The trail was notoriously difficult
because of the steep climb of almost 4,000 feet from Williams to
Windy Gap, a pass near Grayback Peak, located about five miles north
of the caves. The trail then followed a fairly level route to Mount
Elijah overlooking the Bigelow Lakes basin before descending down a
ridge toward Oregon Caves. Visitors who hike to see the Big Tree and
continue up to Mount Elijah are hiking along the general route of
this trail, the oldest trail to Oregon Caves.
The Caves Creek Trail. Constructed 1885. Used until 1922.
Walter Burch was the first person to make a serious effort to
promote Oregon Caves as a tourist attraction. He placed a claim on
the caves in 1884 and built a trail along Caves Creek to the caves.
At that time, a wagon road from Kerbyville ended in the vicinity of
present-day Grayback Campground. From there it was an eight mile
ride by horseback on Walter Burch’s trail to the caves. It took
about six hours to make the trip. Visitors who hike the two
mile-long Caves Creek Trail from the Oregon Caves lodge down to
Caves Creek campground are hiking along the general route of this
historic trail.
The Oregon Caves to Williams Trail. Constructed 1886. Used until
1922.
In the spring of 1886, Walter Burch worked on a trail from Oregon
Caves to the community of Williams. This would later become the
primary route that people took to visit Oregon Caves. The trail
roughly paralleled the older route that went over Windy Gap and
Bigelow Lakes but did not have the steep climb that travelers faced
on the Clapboard – Grayback Pack Trail. Visitors who hike on the
trail to the Big Tree follow this trail for about half a mile.
Story by Roger Brandt
Caption: The Oregon Caves to Williams Trail was perhaps the
best known and well traveled route to Oregon Caves.
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