McKenzie Pass history

The Scott Trail was the first route over the Central Oregon Cascades. It was located in 1862 about three miles south of and a thousand feet higher than the McKenzie Pass.

In 1872, the McKenzie Salt Springs and Deschutes Wagon Road Company with John Craig as president opened the McKenzie Pass route as a toll road. For many years it was the only direct route between the Willamette Valley and Central Oregon.

Craig later was given the contract to deliver mail between McKenzie Bridge and Camp Polk near present-day Sisters. He delivered on horseback in the summer and on snowshoes in the winter. In December 1877, he was caught in a snowstorm and died in his cabin at what is known today as Craig Lake, where he was buried.

Lane County bought the toll road for $500 in 1891, but it remained too difficult to keep the road open during the winter. During the early 1900s, there was talk about building a railroad over the pass, but the project never got off the ground.

Improvements were made in a number of projects between 1910 and 1920. Starting in 1936, a bypass was started north of McKenzie Bridge past Clear Lake to connect with the Santiam Pass Highway. The Clear Lake Cutoff was completed in 1962, providing an all-weather route to Central Oregon.

Today, the McKenzie Highway is both a state historic highway and part of the McKenzie Pass – Santiam Pass National Scenic Byway, open only during the summer months.

According to ODOT records, the longest the pass has been closed was 256 days from November 5 to July 29 during the winter of 1998-99. The shortest time it has been closed is 96 days from December 15 to March 21 in 1933-34.