Mother Nature's beauty hits you right between the eyes on the seventh leg of our California/Oregon road trip through the land of tall trees, mysterious caves, and wild & scenic rivers. Continue following Route 199 until you see Route 46....turn off here and check out the Illinois River Valley Visitor Center. This "one stop" visitor center will provide you with information about the Oregon Caves and the Siskiyou National Forest. The Center even has a natural history bookstore which stocks books and materials that give you additional information on the area's unique geology and rare plants.
If you are interested in visiting the famous Oregon Caves you should know that the caves are open to visitors from March through the end of November and that even in the heat of the summer it is a chilly tour so bring a jacket with you. The labyrinth of caves are a national monument...a collection of chambers and passages that experts estimate are 3 to 5 million years old. Amazing to think that this wonder of geology has been "creating and re-creating" itself for that long.
On the next edition of our road trip, you will move up Route 199 into the city of Grants Pass--famous for being home to the wild & scenic Rogue River rafting and fishing adventures.
