Grants Pass to Crescent City Highway 199 Road Guide - Oregon & California Redwood Highway

Eight Dollar Mountain, Oregon

ZERO ODOMETER at the intersection of Illinois River Road

0.0 Selma intersection with Illinois River Road

0.1 A segment of the 1922 Redwood Highway angles off to the right (Hogue Road). It crosses Deer Creek Bridge then loops back to Highway 199 about a mile from where you enter here. The Deer Creek Bridge was built during the construction of Highway 199 and was completed in 1921. It is the largest of the original bridges remaining from the establishment of this road.

0.3 Eight Dollar Mountain, seen ahead and on the right, is one of the prominent geographical features in this region. There are several stories about how the mountain got its name with the most popular being a miner who bet he could walk around the mountain in a day and wore out an eight dollar pair of shoes in the process. The advertisement for an eight-dollar pair of boots came from the Josephine County Cattle Brand handbook, probably published in the 1890s.

There is an Oregon State Park located near the summit of Eight Dollar Mountain and a Forest Service botanical area on the other side. The Wild and Scenic Illinois River wraps around its south and west side. The entire mountain is made up of mantle rock and is part of a much larger outcrop of these rocks that make up most of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness and Smith River National Recreation Area. Together, the outcrop of mantle rock in this region is one of the largest in the North America.

0.5 Deer Creek Bridge

Lake Selmac County Park located near Selma on Oregon's Redwood Highway 199. 0.6 Lake Shore Drive (flashing yellow light) on the left takes you to campgrounds, picnicking, fishing, and hiking trails at Lake Selmac. Other things to see in this area include Camps Forest, McMullin House, and the historic Deer Creek Grange. From Lake Selmac you can return to Highway 199 on Reeves Creek Road that the general route used by the 1857 Cold Springs Mountain Pack Trail, an important supply route from Crescent City to mining operations in southwest Oregon during the 1851 Oregon gold rush.

0.7 Begin Divided Road. Use the right lane to allow faster traffic to pass.

1.2 The 1922 Redwood Highway merges on the right.

1.3 End Divided Road

Pony Ranch Hotel, a historic site on Oregon's Redwood Highway 199. 2.6 Pony Ranch:
The intersection with Gold Canyon Drive on the right marks the location of the Pony Ranch Hotel, a two story structure that sat on the flat area just beyond the Golden Canyon intersection. The Pony Ranch was a home for high school aged boys that had been rejected from other schools due to discipline problems. They worked at the hotel and on the ranch to help cover expenses. The living quarters for the boys is seen in the background left and the watchman's house in the background right. The hotel burned down in the 1940s and the ranch closed soon after.

Eight Dollar Mountain Road climbs to the Kalmiopsis Wilderness. Cave Junction on Oregon's Redwood Highway 199. 3.7 TJ Howell Botanical Drive (left).
Eight Dollar Mountain Road is also known as the TJ Howell Botanical Drive and takes you on a 16 mile journey through the Wild and Scenic Illinois River to the Kalmiopsis Wilderness. Features include the Eight Dollar Mountain Botanical Area, the site of Oregon's first gold strike, Babyfoot Lake Trail and other hiking trails. Spawning salmon can sometimes be viewed at the Little Illinois River Falls Trail during October.

4.3 Reeves Creek Road (left) returns to Highway 199 from Lake Selmac.
Reeves Creek Road marks the beginning of Sauers Flat and a divided road. Use right lane to let faster traffic pass. In 1964, this region experienced a significant flood. The water rose high enough that it floated logs out of the Cabex Lumber Mill in Kerby, about two miles from here. These logs along with other debris formed a large log jam in the canyon to the right. Water backed up behind the “dam” and covered Highway 199 to a depth of about 17 feet at the Reeves Creek Bridge, the lowest point on this section of the highway. The edge of the flooded area was close to where the four lane road ends about a mile ahead.

4.9 Cron:
This sign purposely has the word “corn” misspelled. As the story goes, a sign was made to sell corn and was put up with the misspelled word. After a week of local people kidding them about the misspelled word the owners made a new sign and took down the old. Apparently, many people encouraged them to put up the old sign because the word “cron” had taken a new place in local humor. And so the old sign was put back up. They now have “cron” t-shirts and hats, a good indication that a mistake in spelling has become a local enterprise.

5.5 End divided road

5.8 Site of Southern Oregon Archery (right).
Southern Oregon Archery was a manufacturing plant that made arrow shafts. At one time, most of the arrow shafts used in the United States came from this factory. The building covered an area of about 4,000 square feet and produced about 200,000 shafts per month. The wood that was used to make the shafts was the Port Orford cedar, a tree that only grows in this region. This wood apparently was ideal for arrows because it doesn’t splinter. The business began in a family garage in 1953 and was moved to this location a year or two later. The business burned down and was reconstructed with a promising future expected for the enterprise. However, not long after the new factory had been established, the archery industry began using aluminum shafts, which apparently could be manufactured at a lower cost. The factory went out of business soon after.

Historic Floyd Home in Kerbyville, located on Highway 199, Oregon's Redwood Highway.. 5.9 Floyd Home (left): Please observe private residences such as this from the highway. The historic Floyd home was constructed about 1910 as a residence by Franklin Floyd a local barber. He operated his barber shop from the house and his wife Marilda, a professional dentist, also used the home for her practice. This is the largest older home in Kerby still standing and in relatively unaltered condition. The maple trees in Kerbyville are believed to have all come from seeds of the Agness Sawyer Tree, planted in the 1860s next to the Pioneer Hotel. This tree is located at “It’s a Burl” on the left.

Kerbyville as it appeared entering the town from the north. circa 1920. Located on Oregon's Redwood Highway 199. 6.0 Entering historic Kerbyville: The picture shows Kerbyville from the north end of town. The Agness Sawyer Maple Tree is in the middle left. The Kerbyville Masonic Lodge is in the middle right. The town of Kerby, formerly known as Kerbyville, was established at the junction of the 1852 Cold Springs Mountain Pack Trail and the 1857 Turnpike and Puncheon Road. It became the county seat on Christmas Eve, 1856 and thrived until the Oregon & California Railroad was constructed about 25 miles north of here in 1884. This dramatically changed transportation patterns in the region, essentially making the supply route from the port town of Crescent City unnecessary. The importance of Kerbyville quickly diminished and the county seat was moved to the new railroad town of Grants Pass the following year.

Pioneer Hotel with the Agness Sawyer Maple Tree on the right. Located at Kerbyville on Oregon's Redwood Highway 199. Kerby has three unique furniture makers and, if you want to visit them, note that parking on Highway 199 is limited. You may want to consider parking on Sixth Street, between the two story buildings on the right. Kauffman’s Furniture is in one of these two story buildings and furniture made by Dovetail Joint is in the other. The third furniture maker is named "It’s A Burl" and is located across Highway 199. Traffic moves quickly through this area. If you decide to walk to It’s A Burl, cross Highway 199 with a high level of caution. The Agness Sawyer Maple Tree is located at "It's A Burl". Using this tree as a reference, you can use the photo above to get an idea of where the old Pioneer Hotel was located.

Old Redwood Highway near Oregon Mountain overlooking Illinois Valley. The route is made up of gravel surfaced roads seen here. 6.2 Sixth Street:
Sixth Street is the starting point for the Old Redwood Highway Road Guide, a drive that takes you on a back country route over stagecoach roads constructed in the 1880s between Kerbyville and Crescent City. The picture shows the tour route near Oregon Mountain overlooking Illinois Valley. The tour route is made up of gravel surfaced roads similar to what is seen here. Eight Dollar Mountain can Barely be seen behind the ridge in the middle of the picture.

6.3 Kerbyville Museum is the official museum of Josephine County and has displays of local historic interest. Outside displays include an old log school house, farming equipment, a miner’s cabin and a replica of a Cabax Mill in Kerbyville. Located on the Redwood Highway 199, Oregon. Native American home. The Naucke House is a late 1800s home that has been refurbished to that era. Tours of the house are offered by museum staff.

The Cabax Lumber Mill was located across the street from the museum and was one of the larger lumber producers in the valley.

6.6 Finch Road (right):
The 1852 Cold Springs Mountain Pack Trail crossed the river in this approximate location, where Kerby’s Trade Store was located on the other side of the river from here. A swinging bridge was later constructed across the river and was used by wagons and, later, cars. The swinging bridge washed out in the flood of 1955. The bridge that replaced the swinging bridge is a one lane, trellis bridge located about a quarter of a mile to the right.

Finch Road crosses the river on an old one-lane trellis bridge. If you are interested in following the approximate route used by the Cold Springs Mountain Pack Trail, you can follow this road over the bridge for about a half mile to where it dead ends at West Side Road. Turn left and follow the pavement to Highway 199, a distance of about 5 miles.

On the left side of Highway 199, across from Finch Road, is the old Kerby Union School, which was purchased by the Kerbyville Masons and donated to Rogue Community College as an education center. Visitors are welcome to stop at the Art Guild Gallery in the building. The Kerbyville Masons are one of the oldest fraternity organizations in Oregon history.

Just after Finch Road is Holton Creek Bridge, named for Dr Daniel Holton, the person generally credited for founding Kerbyville. As you cross the bridge, you may see a portion of the metal Kerby Ditch flue, the abandoned water ditch that once brought water from the Illinois River to Kerbyville.

7.6 Laurel Road (on the left) is the route followed by the Old Redwood Highway Road Guide. The old Laurel Cemetery, established in the 1800s is located about a half a mile up this road on the right. The only golf course in the valley is located to the right at this intersection.

7.9 Siskiyou Medical Clinic (left)

8.0 Enter Cave Junction

8.8 Oregon Caves Highway 46: ZERO YOUR ODOMETER

The Illinois Valley Visitor Center is located on Highway 46, about 500 from this intersection.

The History Loop Road Guide starts at the visitor center. This is a fourteen loop mile drive that takes you through Oregon’s historic gold rush country and past the valley’s three wineries. Both the History Loop and Oregon Caves Road Guide start on the same page. Look at the bottom of the first section of the tour for Oregon Caves Lodge is a registered National Historic Landmark and is one of three great lodges in Oregon. Located near Cave Junction on Oregon's Redwood Highway 199. the point where these two tours separate.

The Oregon Caves Road Guide also begins at the visitor center and is a guide for the twenty mile drive to Oregon Caves National Monument. Both the History Loop and Oregon Caves Road Guide start on the same page. Look at the bottom of the first section of the tour for the point where these two tours separate. When you return from Oregon Caves you can turn and follow the History Loop back to Cave Junction.

Sucker Gap Trail into the Red Buttes Wilderness near Cave Junction on Oregon's Redwood Highway 199. The Sucker Creek Road Guide follows a gravel surfaced road to the Red Buttes Wilderness. This road begins on the Oregon Caves Highway about 13 miles from Cave Junction. Do not attempt to travel on this road during the winter and early spring when it is typically closed by snow. A Forest Service Map is recommended for any trips you may take off of Highway 46. Maps can be purchased at the visitor center.

The Oregon Caves to Williams Road Guide follows a gravel surfaced road that takes you on a back country route toward Grants Pass. This route begins near the Oregon Caves parking lot and follows gravel surfaced to the town of Williams near Grants Pass, Oregon. Do not attempt to travel on this road during the winter and early spring when it is typically closed by snow. A Forest Service Map is recommended for any trips you may take off of Highway 46. Maps can be purchased at the visitor center.

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Disclaimer: All information in Highway199.org is accurate to the best knowledge of the author. However, conditions in outdoor settings can change dramatically after storms or fires. For this reason, travelers are advised to check current road conditions before traveling through the area, drive responsibly and take measures to understand safety issues in the region. When participating in outdoor activities, always plan and prepare for safe hiking, swimming or any other activities mentioned in the Highway 199 website. More on disclaimer and copyright...