Adventures in history: The Old Redwood Stage Road of Oregon and California

Patrick Creek to Gasquet, California

The 1886 Gasquet Toll Roads

ZERO ODOMETER and TURN RIGHT to continue the tour.

Note: if you want to return to Highway 199 at this point, you can turn left at this intersection and drive 3.1 to Highway 199 and Patrick Creek Lodge.

0.0 Intersection with Patrick Creek Road

0.4 Patrick Creek Bridge: After crossing the bridge, stay to the LEFT at the intersection with Holiday Road (named after the Holiday Chrome Mine). After crossing the bridge you will be entering from the lower left side of the picture below and cross to the right where the original Patrick Creek Lodge was once located. The lodge can be seen on the far right of the picture with the barn in the center.

The old Patrick Creek Lodge located on the old Redwood Highway from Grants Pass to Crescent City

A jitney or auto stage parked in front of the old Patrick Creek Lodge located on the old Redwood Highway from Grants Pass to Crescent City Ponds are located where the old Patrick Creek Lodge used to sit next to the road from Grants Pass, Oregon to Crescent City, California.

0.5 Ponds (picture above right) are now located at the approximate site of the original Patrick Creek Lodge. The two cylinder International Harvester "high wheeler" parked in front of the Patrick Creek Lodge is believed to be the first car to drive over the Old Redwood Stage Road, probably around 1912.

As you climb up the grade from the site of the old Patrick Creek Lodge you will see vistas looking down the Patrick Creek drainage. This is a very unique geologic setting. Rocks of an ancient ocean crust make up the hills on the far side of the canyon and serpentine rock make up the terrain you are now driving through. Serpentine rock originates from peridiotite, a type of rock that comes from the upper mantle of the earth, the semi-molten region below the earth's solid crust. The point where the molten mantle meets the solid crust is called the "moho". Some geologists believe that Patrick Creek runs down what was once a moho between the solid ocean crust on the other side of the canyon and the upper mantle rocks. This moho was once located 3-4 miles below the floor of the ocean. Geologic forces have tilted these rocks up on end and erosion has carved out what you see today.

2.4 The dirt road to the right has been closed to vehicle traffic but still offers a good hiking opportunity. This is the shortest route to Cold Springs and the 1852 Cold Springs Mountain Pack Trail established during the Oregon gold rush as a supply route from Crescent City to the gold camps of Oregon. More information see the Cold Springs Mountain Shortcut Trail.

3.5 The reddish soil seen in this area is called laterite and is formed as erosion deteriorates serpentine rock. Small nuggets of black nickel-magnesium ore can be found in some places on the surface of these lateritic soils. The picture below left shows some of the small, dark, shiny nuggets in the upper left of the picture. Others can be seen in different parts of the picture. The nuggets in this picture were found on the ground near the Melderson Grave about two miles further down the road.

Shiny, small nuggets of nickel ore can be found in many of the brick red lateritic soils found in the serpentine rock outcrops along the old Redwood Highway. Melderson Grave on the old Redwood Highway, Smith River National Recreation Area, Highway 199, California.

5.6 Melderson Grave (left). George Melderson died in 1900 at the Elk Horn Mine that was located in the vicinity of present day Patrick Creek Lodge. In 1900, Patrick Creek Lodge was on the Old Redwood Stage Road and it would be another 22 years before Highway 199 would be constructed. It is uncertain why Melderson's body was brought up and buried next to the road. The grave site is located at a point roughly overlooking the site of the mine.

8.7 Danger Point. The small peak seen on the left side of the road is called Danger Point. This name was reportedly given to this section of road because of the dangers experienced by freight wagons or stagecoaches passing each other on the sharp curve.

9.7 Eighteen Mile Creek. This creek is located about 18 miles from the Oregon-California border. If you stand on the bridge and look up stream you will see two of the four types of "cedar" trees that grow in Smith River National Recreation Area. A small incense cedar is to the left and a small Port Orford cedar is to the right. The Port Orford cedar has the same cedar-like smell as other cedars but it is actually a cypress. It's range of growth is confined to the Siskiyou-Klamath Mountains of southern Oregon and northern California. Port Orford cedar are being decimated by a type of fungus root disease which are dispersed by water. This helps to explain why you see so many dead Port Orford cedars along the Smith River.

10.4 Enter burn area. Note how the fire burned the plants of the under story plants but not the larger trees. These plants, mostly tan oak, blue huckleberry, and others are adapted to sprout after a fire. Compare this with the more intense burning that killed the larger trees seen a short distance ahead. Not all fires are bad. A fire that burns up the debris in the under story but does not harm the larger trees is considered a beneficial fire.

11.8 Intersection with road to Elk Ridge Trail (GO LEFT). The road to Elk Ridge follows the approximate route of the Cold Springs Mountain Trail, the first pack trail from the supply port of Crescent City to the gold fields of Oregon. The Elk Ridge Trail is a remnant of the original trail established in 1852.

The Old Redwood Stage Road begins to descend at this point. If you look down the canyon, you will notice a tree covered ridge almost directly across the canyon from this point. This is called French Hill and was once the site of gold mining operations. The mining fields are interesting geologically because gold was found in ancient river gravels that came from a river that has long since disappeared but made these gravel deposits on a plain next to the ocean probably about 30 million years ago. Over time, geologic forces have lifted these gravels upward and erosion has carved canyons leaving them perched on the top of the mountains. A low gear is recommended as you descend.

The old Redwood Highway crosses a bridge over the Middle Fork of the Smith River near Gasquet, California. 14.2 North Fork Road – GO LEFT.

14.6 Middle Fork Bridge. The picture to the right shows what this bridge may have looked like in the early 1900s.

14.7 Stop sign - TURN LEFT.

14.8 Gasquet store – Highway 199
SET YOUR ODOMETER TO ZERO at the intersection of Highway 199. TURN RIGHT to continue the next part of the tour.

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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...