Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway - Oregon
Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway - Oregon is an All-American Road in Oregon. Within Oregon it covers roughly 140 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway - Oregon with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
Oregon's stretch of the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway runs from Diamond Lake Junction to Crater Lake National Park on Oregon Route 138. It's the Oregon half of a 500-mile All-American Road, one of only 42 in the country, that traces a chain of volcanoes from Oregon into Northern California. The route's centerpiece, Crater Lake, fills the caldera left by Mount Mazama's eruption roughly 7,700 years ago, a blast some 42 times more powerful than Mount St. Helens in 1980. Christine Lilienthal first conceived of a volcano-to-volcano drive and helped establish the Oregon segment through the Fremont-Winema National Forest; the Federal Highway Administration designated it a National Scenic Byway in 1997, and the route became a full All-American Road in 2002 when California's segment joined it. Along the way, Fort Klamath figures in two chapters of regional history: the 1864 Peace Treaty of Council Grove and the trials and executions that followed the 1872-73 Modoc War.
- Crater Lake National Park
- Mount Mazama eruption
- All-American Road
- Diamond Lake Junction
- 1997 designation
- Fort Klamath history
- Modoc War
Designated for its natural and recreational qualities
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Places to stop along Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway - Oregon
Crater Lake National Park
The deepest lake in the U.S., filling the caldera left when Mount Mazama collapsed about 7,700 years ago. Rim Drive circles it when it's clear of snow.
WebsiteLower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge
The country's first waterfowl refuge, set up in 1908 on the California line, with an auto tour route through marshes busy with migrating birds.
Where to Stay along Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway - Oregon
2 campgrounds and RV parks sit within about 5 miles of Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway - Oregon.
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Photos of Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway - Oregon
What is an All-American Road?
All-American Roads are the top tier of America's National Scenic Byways. To earn the title a road has to be a destination in its own right — offering features so exceptional, across several intrinsic qualities (scenic, natural, historic, cultural, archaeological or recreational), that they can't be found anywhere else.