East of
McKenzie Bridge
MP 51.6: Jenny B. Harris Park sits on four acres and has trail access to the river. This is a day-use only park with picnic sites and public toilets.
MP 52: McKenzie River National Scenic Trail head. A boat landing is also located here.
MP 52.4: McKenzie Ranger Station was completed in 1934 as the location of Camp Belknap CCC Camp.
In 1955 the McKenzie District was divided into two smaller districts to also form the Blue River District. For complete information about recreation in this area stop in at the information desk. Just west of the station is the trailhead for the McKenzie River National Recreation Trail. This 28-mile trail passes through the gorgeous Tamolitch Valley and winds its way up to Clear Lake. The trail can also be accessed by a short trail directly across from the ranger station. Check with the front desk for a detailed map of this National Scenic Trail.
MP 53.1: Paradise Campground on the north side of the highway is one of the finest of many campgrounds in the valley. Boat landing located here.
MP 56.2: McKenzie/Santiam Pass National Scenic By Way, one of the most beautiful loop drives in Oregon. This road leads into some of the most recent volcanic flows in the state, some as recent as 1,500 years old. Camp Yale, camping and RV spots in a natural setting is located here as well as the headquarters of McKenzie River Reflections Newspaper.
This is the Lost Creek Trough area where waters disappear into lava beds and reappear further down the landscape. Waterfalls dot the countryside with sparkling clear water falling hundreds of feet. Be sure not to miss upper and lower Proxy Falls as well as those at Linton Lake. There are many campgrounds, trails to follow, and access points to the Three Sisters Wilderness (remember permits required). Always check with the Ranger Districts for seasonal opening and closing dates of this highway.
Alder Springs Campground is located on this road. In early days it was sometimes called Ishom Corral. In the summer of 1898 Claude Branton and Courtland Green were helping a man named John Linn drive some stock from Sisters. On the evening of June 15, 1898, while the party was camped at Alder Springs, Branton shot and killed Linn with a revolver. After Linn was killed, he was buried and a fire built over his grave. As they sat by the fire, one of the assassins performed on the Jew's harp while the other furnished vocal music. Branton was later tried and convicted for his part in the affair. He was hanged in Eugene, May 12, 1899, the first man to be hung in Lane County. Green turned state's evidence and pleaded guilty to a charge of murder in the second degree. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
The John Templeton Craig Memorial is located on this roadway. Craig was the first mailman to cross the pass carrying the mail to the east side of the Cascades. He died here in his cabin one winter during a snow storm.
Further east along Hwy. 242 is the Dee Wright Observatory. This was a CCC project of the 1930's and has breath-taking views of the Three Sisters, Mt. Washington, Mt. Jefferson, and on a clear day, even Mt. Hood. The Pacific Crest Trail can be accessed from this site. This area is loaded with local history and deserves a very close look by visitors to the valley. Take your time, drive the 40 mile trip to the city of Sisters and then return back along Hwy. 126 to Fish Lake, Clear Lake, Sahalie Falls, Koosah Falls, and many more scenic sites.
Editor's Note: The following milepost numbers are approximations and begin after the junction of Scenic Hwy. 242 and Hwy. 126. When this section of Hwy. 126 (Clear Lake Cutoff) was completed the milepost numbers were changed and reflect distances west of the Hwy. 20/126 junction.
MP 18.9: Belknap Springs was discovered in 1859 by George Millican, John Craig, James Stormet, and Joseph Carter. The area was settled in the 1870's by Rollin Belknap. A hotel and mineral bath operation was first opened in 1872. A modern, upscale resort and RV park is now at this site. Six springs are located on the north side of the river with hot water piped across and above the stream. While in the area be sure and go hiking on the north side of the river here. There are many lovely, landscaped trails and picturesque picnicking and camping spots.
MP 17: Scott Creek an area where portions of the Scott Trail are still visible in places. In 1862 Felix Scott Jr. headed a party of 50 men, 900 head of cattle and 9 freight wagons over the McKenzie Pass following an old Indian trail.
MP 11: Carmen Smith Hydroelectric Project includes three reservoirs, Carmen, Smith, and Trail Bridge. At the upper end of this Eugene Water & Electric development is Carmen Diversion Dam, which channels the McKenzie River into a tunnel to Smith Reservoir. A second channel combines water from the McKenzie and Smith Rivers at the Carmen Power Plant, which generates up to 80,000 kilowatts of electrical power. Picnicking, camping, hiking trails, fishing, and boat launching facilities are all part of this complex. Family picnic and overnight camping sites are at Carmen Diversion Reservoir, Trail Bridge and Lake's End on the upper tip of Smith Reservoir.
MP 7: Lava Flows dating back 3,000 years dot the landscape. The ancient bed of the McKenzie River was blocked by lava, creating the spectacular falls which this area is famous for. Magma from Belknap Crater, more than 10 miles away, flowed into the Tamolitch Canyon as recently as 1,500 years ago.
MP 5: Koosah Falls (meaning sky in Chinook) were once called the middle falls as the second in a series of three. Tamolitch Falls, located to the south, has been dry since the dams were built. You can follow a trail from Koosah to Sahalie Falls, located just east of here.
MP 4: Sahalie Falls (means high in Chinook) are over 100 feet tall. Even in the heat of summer this is a cool, refreshing place to visit. Plenty of off-road parking, bathrooms, and wheel chair accessible ramps to a deck below the falls. A hiking trail leads downstream to Koosah Falls.
MP 2: Clear Lake headwaters of the McKenzie River, is a 1.5 mile long, crystal clear lake with a maximum depth of 195 feet and an average temperature of 43 degrees. The lake, which occupies the bed of an ancestral upper McKenzie River, lies behind a dam formed by lava flows from Sand Mountain cinder cones about 3,000 years ago. Large petrified trees with radio-carbon ages of approximately 2,900 years, are submerged in the lake and are clearly visible. The Clear Lake Resort provides cabins, rowboat rentals (no motor boats allowed, but bring your canoe), a lunch counter and general store. Power to the resort is by generator so lights go off early here.
MP 0.5: Fish Lake is a site filled with history. Pioneers began traveling on the Old Santiam Wagon Road in the 1860's. This area was a stopover with a hotel and livery to accommodate travelers. The Forest Service established the Fish Lake Remount Station beside the lake and after 1910 the station was used as summer headquarters of the old Santiam Nation Forest. The old buildings have been renovated for overnight rental and are reminiscent of a living museum. Fish Lake, which goes dry in the summer, was formed 3,800 years ago when lava vents blocked Hackleman Creek. This lava flow can be seen on the east shore and on both sides of the highway southeast of the lake.
MP 0: You've reached the Junction of Highways 126 & 20: You have the option of turning left at this point and traveling to Sweet Home and eventually I-5 or turning right and going over the Santiam pass to the city of Sisters. If you decide on the Sisters route you can pick up the Old McKenzie Pass National Scenic By Way and continue back down Hwy. 242, ending up in the community of McKenzie Bridge.
