60 things to do in the
Illinois Valley
Published with permission from Roger Brandt
1. Visit
the Oregon Caves lodge, a National Historic Landmark and one of the great lodges
of the West.
Have dinner or stay overnight in rooms with 1930s
furnishings.
2. Hike the
Big Tree Loop trail through an old-growth forest, where you can visit the
largest-diameter
Douglas fir in Oregon.
3. Hike the Bigelow Lakes loop trail, one of the most scenic hikes in Josephine County.
4. Visit
the site of the Oregon Caves Civilian Conservation Corps. camp. Stroll the 1
mile loop trail behind
the historic site that takes you into the forest and
along Grayback Creek.
5. Take the historic loop drive along Highway 46 and Holland Loop.
6. Hike in the Red Buttes Wilderness (Tannen Lakes).
7. Hike in the Siskiyou Wilderness (Young's Valley, Raspberry Lake, Twin Valley, Devil's Punchbowl).
8. Hike in
the Kalmiopsis Wilderness (Babyfoot Lake Botanical Area, Whetstone Butte on the
divide
between the Illinois River and Chetco River, Chetco
Divide Trail).
9. Phone to
make arrangements to visit Camp's Forest, an environmentally oriented logging
project
(597-4313).
10. Drive the
historic Gasquet Toll Road from O'Brien to Gasquet. This road was constructed in
1887 and
was the main route used between Illinois Valley
and Crescent City before Hwy 199 was built in 1922.
11. Take a drive
on the T.J. Howell Botanical Drive, a gravel road that is one of the most scenic
routes
in Josephine County.
12. Visit the Wild & Scenic Illinois River corridor.
13. Tour Oregon Caves National Monument.
14. Visit the unique botanical landscape of Rough & Ready Forest Wayside.
15. Hike in the Rough & Ready River canyon, a river corridor qualified for Wild & Scenic River status.
16. Picnic at the "Forks" of Illinois River State Park