Lolo Pass is a mountain pass northwest of Mount Hood and northeast of Zigzag, Oregon, on the Clackamas– Hood River county line. It divides the Sandy River watershed on the southwest from the Hood River watershed on the northeast. At , it provides a much lower crossing of the Cascade Range near Mount Hood than the

Oregon Route 35 Oregon Route 35 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Oregon, running between Government Camp on the slopes of Mount Hood and the city of Hood River. OR 35 traverses part of the Mt. Hood Highway No. 26 ( Mount Hood Scenic Byway) ...

Bennett Pass on the southeast side. Access from the southwest side of the pass is paved all the way to the pass, where the road changes to gravel, heading down the northeast side of the pass. Lolo Pass Road (Forest Road 18) is closed due to heavy snow each winter. The road through the pass was initially established by Native Americans, as a trading route connecting the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the eas ...

and sites at the eastern end of the

Columbia River Gorge The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range, forming the boundary between the st ...

Celilo Falls Celilo Falls (Wyam, meaning "echo of falling water" or "sound of water upon the rocks," in several native languages) was a tribal fishing area on the Columbia River, just east of the Cascade Mountains, on what is today the border between the U.S. ...

. In 1838, Daniel Lee (nephew of missionary

Jason Lee Jason Lee may refer to: Entertainment *Jason Lee (actor) (born 1970), American film and TV actor and former professional skateboarder *Jason Scott Lee (born 1966), Asian American film actor * Jaxon Lee (Jason Christopher Lee, born 1968), American v ...

) drove livestock across the pass, while traveling east to establish a new Methodist station, named Wascopam Mission. He was the first westerner known to have used the trail. The trail was then used as one of the final legs of the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kans ...

; settlers arriving from

The Dalles The Dalles is the largest city of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the largest city on the Oregon side of the Columbia River between the Portland Metropolitan Area, and Hermiston ...

would often drive their livestock over the pass while their families floated down the river. The 1846 construction of the

Barlow Road The Barlow Road (at inception, Mount Hood Road) is a historic road in what is now the U.S. state of Oregon. It was built in 1846 by Sam Barlow and Philip Foster, with authorization of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon, and served as the la ...

provided a less daunting alternate route around the south side of Mount Hood. Lolo Pass is one of the milestones along the

Pacific Crest Trail The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...

, though not a particularly low point for the region. By south of Lolo Pass, the Pacific Crest Trail drops to and much lower to the north at the Columbia River. A small campsite is located along the trail just south of the forest service road.

References

Mountain passes of the Cascades Mountain passes of Oregon Oregon Trail Historic trails and roads in Oregon Chinook Jargon place names Transportation in Clackamas County, Oregon Mount Hood Transportation in Hood River County, Oregon Landforms of Clackamas County, Oregon Mount Hood National Forest Landforms of Hood River County, Oregon {{HoodRiverCountyOR-geo-stub