The area encompassed by the Siskiyou Crest National Monument is a year-round hotspot for outdoors enthusiasts. The spectacular peaks, vast forests, deep canyons and clean rivers are rugged and remote while also highly accessible by an extensive network of hundreds of miles road and trail systems. There is something for every interest here, from easy car camping to deep wilderness backpacking, from high exposed ridges to tucked away swimming holes.

Hunting, fishing, backpacking, mountain biking, horseback riding, downhill and cross country skiing and paragliding are all popular activities that would be further promoted by the establishment of a national monument. Local communities already cater to outdoor-oriented visitors with gear stores, lodging and dining businesses, guide services and other amenities. The western portion of the proposed monument contains the Oregon Caves, one of the most visited attractions in the region, and on the eastern end the Mt. Ashland Ski Area also draws tens of thousands of winter sports enthusiasts. Applegate Lake in the center of the proposed monument is a favorite regional location for boating, swimming, picnicking, camping and fishing.

The proposed Monument features an abundance of hiking opportunities, including the Boundary, Bigelow, Mule, and Cook and Green trails (Click here for descriptions of featured trails). The Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, the “crown jewel” of America’s foot paths, traverses the breadth of the monument for nearly 60 miles, from the banks of the Klamath River at 1000 feet in elevation, to the highest ridges of the Siskiyou’s above 7000 feet. This route offers iconic vistas in every direction, and unsurpassed access to wildflower meadows and idyllic camping opportunities. The Sterling Ditch Trail system contours over 20 miles through beautiful pine oak savannah and low-elevation mixed conifer forest in the Little Applegate Valley, providing excellent views and close to town wilderness walking in any season. It would take a lifetime to explore the thousands of miles of routes available in this alluring countryside.

For almost 40 miles, Forest Road 20 crosses the Siskiyou Mountains from I-5 to the Applegate Valley, passing through the Rogue River National Forest along the Siskiyou Crest. The road starts out paved as it heads over Siskiyou Pass (4,400’) for the ski area on Mount Ashland (7,533’), the highest point in Oregon west of the Cascade Range.  Siskiyou Pass, first discovered by Hudson’s Bay Company trapper Peter Skene Ogden in 1827, became a major gateway to California when a road built over the pass was used by the Portland to Sacramento stage line from 1859 to 1887. The road was built in 1936-37 by the CCC to provide access to the high elevation forestlands of the eastern Siskiyous.  Today, the route provides easy access to the stunning panoramic views and extraordinary wildflower displays of the Siskiyou Crest. A summer drive along Road 20 offers breath taking views of Mt. Shasta, the Scott Bar and Marble Mountains, the Klamath River Basin, the High Siskiyous, the Upper Rogue and Applegate Valleys and the many peaks of the South Cascades, including Mt. McLoughlin, Crater Lake, Mt. Thielson and Pilot Rock.

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