Lolo 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 ...

northwest 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 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 The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...

near

than the Oregon Route 35 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 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 east, the ...

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 state ...

like Celilo Falls. In 1838, Daniel Lee (nephew of missionary Jason Lee) 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 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 ...

; settlers arriving from The Dalles would often drive their livestock over the pass while their families floated down the river. The 1846 construction of the Barlow Road 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