Barlow Pass is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

in the Cascades in

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, on the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...

, and one of the major milestones 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 ...

. It is the crest of the

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as many of those in the ...

: the dividing line between watersheds of the

Deschutes River The Deschutes River ( ) in central Oregon is a major tributary of the Columbia River. The river provides much of the drainage on the eastern side of the Cascade Range in Oregon, gathering many of the tributaries that descend from the drier, easte ...

and those that flow into the Sandy River. It is located on the southern flanks of

Mount Hood Mount Hood, also known as Wy'east, is an active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range and is a member of the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast and rests in the Pacific N ...

and traversed by Oregon Route 35. Highway 35 and the Barlow Road converge to within 400 ft (125 m) at the pass. Originally a "rustic and scenic" summer road, Highway 35 was straightened and widened throughout 1964–1968 for practical winter road maintenance. Sharp turns were eliminated and elevation changes more graduated, unlike the Barlow Road, which sharply descends westward at the foot of the pass. The Barlow Road route is popular for cross country skiing, and the pass is a trailhead to 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 ...

, which runs north and south across the pass.

References

Mountain passes of Oregon Mountain passes of the Cascades Mount Hood Landforms of Clackamas County, Oregon Landforms of Hood River County, Oregon Mount Hood National Forest {{HoodRiverCountyOR-geo-stub