John Cletheroe's
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Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway, Oregon - Oregon State Highways 38, 62, 138 and 230 - Rogue River, Siskiyou and Umpqua National Forests

Description

From Gold Beach a back road (unnumbered on most maps) heads east alongside the Rogue River to Agnes, and then separately from the river to I-5 near Grants Pass. We have explored a short length of the westernmost part of this road, which is scenic, passing through the Siskiyou National Forest. I suspect it becomes even more scenic as it crosses the coastal mountains. According to the map most of this road is paved but a short section east of Agnes may be unpaved. The lack of road numbering may well make navigation tricky.

The remainder of the roads described on this page are paved, numbered and well signposted.

From Medford, on I-5 not far from the California border, the Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway follows the upper Rogue River along Oregon State Highway 62, in part running through the Rogue River National Forest. Just south of Union Creek, Rogue Gorge and Natural Bridge are each well worth a stop. There are short and easy walk to viewpoints of the gorge and the natural bridge. This natural bridge was formed from a lava tube.

At Union Creek you can take the very worthwhile diversion to Crater Lake National Park. If the road through the National Park is blocked by winter snow then you will have to return to Union Creek, otherwise you can leave the Park by its northern exit.

The scenic byway then continues by means of Oregon State Highway 230 through the Umpqua National Forest to Diamond Lake, and then by Oregon State Highway 138 to join the upper Umpqua River, which it follows to Roseburg (on I-5). There are stopping points at several waterfalls along this road.

From Sutherlin (on I-5 north of Roseburg) Oregon State Highway 138 continues west, rejoining the Umpqua River after a short distance, and then continues to join Oregon State Highway 38 at Elkton. Highway 38 runs west to the coast at Reedsport. The entire trip from Sutherlin to Reedsport is extremely scenic. Despite passing through the coastal mountains this is a good and reasonably fast road since it follows the river valley.

The Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway, together with Oregon's other scenic byways, is described in an excellent free booklet entitled "Off The Beaten Freeway - A Guide To Oregon's Scenic Byways" published by the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Oregon Tourism Commission.

Trivia

Barbara McCaleb Coon of Junction City, Oregon sent me this interesting note:
I thought you might like to know that the longest river entirely contained within one county in the United States is the Umpqua River in Douglas County, Oregon. This has been a trivia specialty in my family for as long as I can remember. My uncle was a game warden with the Fish and Wildlife Department down there many years ago.

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Most recently modified 4-Oct-02