- Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway
The Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway is an
All-American Road in theU.S. state s ofCalifornia andOregon . It is roughly 500 miles (800 km) long and travels through theCascade Range past numerousvolcano es. It is composed of two separateNational Scenic Byway s, the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway - Oregon and Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway - California. The latter also wholly includes the Lassen Scenic Byway.Route summary
Oregon section
Starting at U.S. Route 97 south of Chemult, the byway heads west on
Oregon Route 138 before turning south onOregon Route 209 intoCrater Lake National Park , whereCrater Lake fills thecaldera of the destroyedMount Mazama volcano. The byway includes "Rim Drive" which circumnavigates the lake.South of Crater Lake, the byway continues down
Oregon Route 62 , with Mount Scott on the east, to Fort Klamath, whereupon it heads west on "Weed Road" to "Sevenmile Road", then south on "West Side Road" along the edge of theUpper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge andUpper Klamath Lake . The byway then passesMount McLoughlin on the east as it joinsOregon Route 140 to Klamath Falls.From there, the route proceeds southwards on US 97, between
Bear Valley National Wildlife Refuge andLower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge to the California border.California section
Just south of the border, a
spur route heads east on State Route 161 and south on Route 139 to Tulelake. This section then turns west through the town along "E Street/East West Road", then south down "Hill Road" through theTule Lake National Wildlife Refuge on the western shore ofTule Lake , an area ofwetland s andmarsh es, which greatly contrast with the harsh landscape of theLava Beds National Monument , just ahead. The monument lies on the northeast flank of theMedicine Lake Volcano , the largest volcano (total area covered) in the Cascades.The main byway continues south on US 97 around
Mount Shasta , the second-tallest volcano in the country, to the city of Weed. It briefly joins Interstate 5, passing the Black Butte volcano, before heading east on Route 89 in the city of Mount Shasta.Besides volcanoes, the byway passes near a number of
waterfall s. The "McCloud River Falls" are north ofLake McCloud , which lies south of the highway, near the town of McCloud.McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park is further along Route 89 atLake Britton .Passing by a number of smaller volcanoes, the byway makes it way south where it circles
Lassen Peak . At Route 44, the byway heads southeast to Route 36, where it turns west. There is also a bypass along Route 147 and Route 89 aroundLake Almanor , rejoining Route 36 in the town of Chester. The byway continues along Routes 36/89 and follows Route 89 after they split throughLassen Volcanic National Park . On the other side of the park, Route 89 joins Route 44 eastward, returning to the starting point of the loop. This loop itself is designated the Lassen Scenic Byway.External links
* [http://www.volcaniclegacybyway.org/ Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway web site]
* [http://www.byways.org/browse/byways/2587/ Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway (byways.org)]
* [http://www.byways.org/browse/byways/2195/ Lassen Scenic Byway (byways.org)]
* [http://www.volcaniclegacy.net/ Virtual Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway (volcaniclegacy.net)]
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