Southern Oregon's Mountains and Cities

including Crater Lake and Diamond Peak

Southern Oregon's mountains are comprised of a region extending south from Willamette Pass to the Oregon -California border, and westward to the Pacific Ocean. Peaks exceeding 8,000 Ft. are numerous, including north to south, Diamond Peak, Tipsoo, Howlock Mtn, Mt. Bailey, Mt Thielson, Mt Scott, Mt McLoughlin, Pelican Butte, Yamsay Mtn, Gearhart Mtn,and Aspen Butte...Going westward along the Siskiyou Mountains there are several peaks over 7,000 ft, such as Mt. Ashland, Dutchmans Peak and Greyback Mountain.... A Booster Club in Grants Pass named themselves "The Cavemen" and made this region notorious as the haunt of a clan of antics-loving Neanderthals, who greeted the likes of President John F. Kennedy when he visited the area in the early 1960s. Image at page top is my scan of an old postcard, showing the giant "caveman" statue that has greeted visitors to Grants Pass for many decades.

Southern Oregon Navigation

1. Click here to visit Southern Oregon's Siskiyou Mountains, the Rogue River Valley, and Mt Ashland Ski Area. Includes link to Oregon Caves National Monument near Grants Pass and Cave Junction.

2. Click here to visit one of Oregon's original Wilderness Areas, the Mountain Lakes Wilderness Area, near the well-known resort areas of Lake of the Woods and Harriman Lodge.

3. Click here to visit Mt. McLoughlin, the highest peak in the Southern Oregon Cascades, nearly 10,000 ft high... (older maps will show the mountain named "Mt. Pitt"). See a history of the fire lookout buildings on the summit of McLoughlin 1917 to the present.

4. Click here to visit Lake of the Woods Resort area, at the foot of Mt. McLoughlin and Brown Mountain.

5. Click here to visit Klamath Falls, arguably the highest elevation and sunniest full-fledged city in Oregon.

6. Diamond Peak and Willamette Pass area, see below

....click

Diamond Peak, 8,744----Just south of Willamette Pass, and 80 miles north of Mt. McLoughlin, Diamond Peak soars; but, amazingly, it is little known to most Oregonians. The peak is the heart of the smallish, 36,637 acre Diamond Peak Wilderness Area, established 2/05/1957. Part of the Wilderness lies in the Willamette Nat'l Forest, and part in the Deschutes Nat'l Forest. GLOBAL WARMING: in 1972 I climbed Diamond Peak in June and was amazed to note a small residual glacier on the north side of the main summit. That picture is found here: Glacier

The left image, taken from 7,144 ft. Fuji Mountain on Bunchgrass Ridge, shows Doug Newman, one of the founding members of the University of Oregon's famed Eugene Outdoor Program.(the program's modern name is University of Oregon Outdoor Program (UOOP), aka Outdoor Pursuits Progam (OPP), and in 1998 "Sports Afield" magazine awarded its top honor to the OPP as best overall outdoor program among the USA's colleges and universities; I had the honor to be one of the original trip leaders during its formative years). .. In the image above, one can spot Diamond Peak, Mt Thielson and the rim of Crater Lake.... Willamette Pass and Willamette Pass Ski Area lie between the hiker and Diamond Peak..... Doug Newman published a book titled FINDING FIRE in 1982 about Oregon's Lane County Lookouts; it's very interesting. It can be purchased from the Lane County Historical Society in Eugene; I'm seen on pg. 18, the last guy on the left in the 1968 picture of the Fuji Mtn. lookout (burned by the USFS in 1972).ka UOOP...EMU Outdoor Program

The right image (the small one) shows a team of climbers from Eugene YMCA Wilderness Camp approaching Diamond Peak's summit... Please click on Image to see a far more exciting version!

Author's disclaimer: Many who have hiked the Diamond Peak region of the Oregon Cascades proclaim it to be the Scourge of the Cascades, buzzing furiously with billions of tiny black mosquitos and other stinging critters all summer long due to its continous heavy forest cover and multitudes of small lakes and ponds. Visit in October, or ski in when the little guys are buried under ten feet of snow!

Aspen Cabin

Click image for larger size

---In Southern Oregon, the region on the eastern (dry) side of the Cascades is resplendent with blazing aspens in October. This ruined cabin was found on a peaceful slumberous day many years ago, west of Upper Klamath Lake.

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