The Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway is a scenic byway and All-American Road in the U.S. states of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

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 ...

. It is roughly long and travels north–south along 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 ...

past numerous

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

es. It is composed of two separate National Scenic Byways, the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway - Oregon and Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway - California. The former includes Rim Drive within

Crater Lake National Park Crater Lake National Park is a national park of the United States located in southern Oregon. Established in 1902, Crater Lake is the fifth-oldest national park in the United States and the only national park in Oregon. The park encompasses t ...

, while the latter wholly includes the Lassen Scenic Byway within

Lassen Volcanic National Park Lassen Volcanic National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in northeastern California. The dominant feature of the park is Lassen Peak, the largest lava dome, plug dome volcano in the wo ...

Route description

California section

Region 1 through Region 4: the Lassen Scenic Byway

The southern terminus of the byway is located in Canyondam, at the intersection of State Route 147 (SR 147) and SR 89. SR 89 runs along the west side of Lake Almanor, and then runs eastward through

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

towards

Mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

. From Mineral, the byway runs northward through

to Manzanita Lake to Old Station. From the southern terminus of the byway, there is also a

bypass route A bypass is a road or highway that avoids or "bypasses" a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, to improve road safety and as replacement ...

along SR 147. SR 147 runs along the east side of Lake Almanor and intersects with SR 36 at Westwood. From this point, the bypass runs eastward until it intersects with SR 44 in Susanville. From this point, the bypass runs to the northwest through the Lassen National Forest until it intersects with SR 89 in Old Station. The route from Canyondam to Chester to Mineral to Manzanita Lake to Old Station to Susanville to Westwood and back to Canyondam forms a loop—designated the Lassen Scenic Byway—which can be traveled either clockwise or counterclockwise.

Region 5: Old Station to Burney

Continuing northwards from Old Station, the byway goes through Hat Creek and then to Burney. Thousand Lakes Wilderness and Burney Mountain are located just west of the byway, while Hat Creek Radio Observatory and the Lassen National Forest are to the east.

Region 6: Burney to McCloud

Continuing northwards from Burney, the byway goes past McArthur–Burney Falls Memorial State Park, then Lake Britton, then crosses the McCloud River and runs past Bartle before arriving at McCloud. The byway splits at Bartle; there is an alternate route that runs in a northeasterly direction for through the Modoc National Forest, winding past Medicine Lake before arriving at Lava Beds National Monument. From Lava Beds National Monument the alternate route runs north for roughly , passing through Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

Region 7: McCloud to Weed

From McCloud, the byway goes past

Mount Shasta Mount Shasta ( ; Shasta people, Shasta: ''Waka-nunee-Tuki-wuki''; Karuk language, Karuk: ''Úytaahkoo'') is a Volcano#Volcanic activity, potentially active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California. A ...

, then through Black Butte before arriving at

Weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. Pla ...

. Lake Siskiyou is located just west of the byway, while

is to the east.

Region 8: Weed to Dorris to Tulelake

Continuing northwards from Weed, the byway goes past Carrick, then Pluto's Cave, Mount Hebron, Macdoel, Butte Valley National Grassland, and Meiss Lake before arriving at Dorris. The byway again splits just north of Dorris; there is an alternate route that runs east for along the California–Oregon state line on SR 161 past Ainsworth Corner and Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge to Hatfield. At Hatfield, SR 161 joins SR 139. From here, the byway continues south for to Tulelake. At this point, SR 139 becomes the Lava Beds Highway while the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway turns sharply to the east. east of this point, the byway then turns runs south for roughly , where it passes through Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Lava Beds National Monument. From Lava Beds National Monument, the byway continues south for through Modoc National Forest, winding past Medicine Lake before arriving at SR 89 in Bartle.

Oregon section

Region 9: Tulelake to Dorris to Klamath Falls

From Tulelake, the byway continues east for , then turns north and goes past Camp Tulelake before turning west onto SR 161 at Ainsworth Corner. From Ainsworth Corner, the byway continues east on SR 161 for through Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge along the California–Oregon state line, then turns north onto U.S. Route 97 (US 97) at Dorris. Continuing north, the byway crosses into Oregon at the Francis Landrum Historic Wayside, then passes through Worden ( Bear Valley National Wildlife Refuge is located just east of the byway at Worden) and Midland before arriving at Klamath Falls.

Region 10: Klamath Falls to Fort Klamath

At Klamath Falls, the byway turns onto

Oregon Route 140 Oregon Route 140 (OR 140) is a State highway#United States, state highway in southern Oregon, United States. It is the longest List of highway route numbers in Oregon, state highway in Oregon, running from the community of White City, Oregon ...

(OR 140) and heads northeast along the eastern side of Upper Klamath Lake for before turning north onto Westside Road. From there, the byway passes between Pelican Butte (west of the byway) and Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge (east of the byway) before arriving at Fort Klamath.

Region 11: Fort Klamath to Crater Lake National Park

At Fort Klamath, the byway joins OR 62 and continues north for , where it turns onto Munson Valley Road and enters

. At this point, the road becomes Rim Drive, a loop that follows the

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...

rim around Crater Lake. At Merriam Point, Rim Drive splits and turns north. The byway continues north for , crossing the Pumice Desert before turning east onto OR 138. From this point, the byway continues east for nearly , before finally terminating at US 97 in Chemult.

Gallery

Image:VolcanicLegacyScenicByway CaliforniaSection.gif, Map of California section Image:VolcanicLegacyScenicByway OregonSection.gif, Map of Oregon section Image:Crater Lake 2.jpg, Crater Lake Image:RossGeese Oregon.jpg, Ross' geese at Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge Image:Mount McLoughlin aerial.jpg, Mount McLoughlin Image:McArthurBurneyFallsStatePark.jpg, Burney Falls Image:LakeBritton(CA).jpg, Lake Britton Image:MtShasta SnowCapped.jpg,

Image:Weed CA.jpg,

Weed, California Weed is a city in Siskiyou County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the city had a total population of 2,862, down from 2,967 in 2010. There are several unincorporated communities adjacent to, or just ...

References

External links

The Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway All-American Road
{{Crater Lake All-American Roads Crater Lake National Park Named highways in California Protected areas of Lassen County, California Protected areas of Plumas County, California Protected areas of Shasta County, California Protected areas of Tehama County, California Roads in Lassen County, California Roads in Plumas County, California Roads in Shasta County, California Roads in Siskiyou County, California Roads in Tehama County, California Scenic highways in Oregon State Scenic Highway System (California) Transportation in Klamath County, Oregon U.S. Route 97 Volcanism of California Volcanism of Oregon