Highway closes, recreation begins

The McKenzie Highway, which usually sees 300 cars a day, is now closed for the winter. photo by Susan Springer The highest pass in Oregon closed for the winter last week.

The scenic McKenzie Highway (Hwy. 242) closed from nine miles west of Sisters to its junction with joins Highway 126 near McKenzie Bridge. The pass, at 5,325 feet, is one of the few roads in Oregon that is routinely closed for the winter.

The highway has numerous sharp switchbacks making it difficult to operate snowplows on the blind corners, according to Oregon Department of Transportation spokeswoman Julianne Repman.

"It creates a very small channel," said Repman of efforts to clear snow off the narrow highway. She said if a warming trend had been predicted after the first snow, the highway might have been left open.

Many people enjoy snowshoeing and cross country skiing the highway in the snow.

"For some people it's a great sign that they can get out in that beautiful area," said Repman.

The longest number of days the highway was open was 250 days in 1934. The shortest open period for the highway was only 90 days in 1999.