Gravel roads zig zag through the area around Crater Lake and offer countless options for riding and exploring. Derek and I did a route the other day that took us up to Seven Mile Marsh Trailhead and then out another dirt road terminating further out towards Rocky Point. Our ride was 26.2 miles with 1831′ of climbing.
Starting from Annie Creek Sno-Park we headed across the highway on Pine Flats Road. The first couple miles are pretty flat and easy as we passed through…., well…pine trees. At the junction with National Forest Road 32 we turned left onto a single lane ribbon of pavement that took us past the Seven Mile Guard Station where we turned right and headed up the gravel road to the trailhead. This climb is 5 miles with 1339’of climbing. It wasn’t incredibly steep, just pretty constant.
As usual, we rode this on a weekday and had a car pass us but on weekends it might be slightly busier. The trailhead was our turnaround point since it enters wilderness where bikes aren’t allowed. There is a small parking area up there and the trail leads to the Pacific Crest Trail and a bunch of small lakes.
We turned around and descended all the way down and turned right on National Forest Road 33 this time. The road is dirt/gravel and winds along side the giant meadow through Fort Klamath. On the map we saw something called Blue Pool we were interested in seeing. However, when we got there we saw No Tresspassing Signs and Private Property markers. I was able to get a picture through the trees though. When we reached the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway we turned around and headed back to the start.
I’ve noticed that a lot of time people get so caught up in getting “to something”. We do it ourselves sometimes. This wasn’t one of those times, this was pure exploration. There’s a lot out there to see folks.
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