OC&E Woods Line State Trailhead - Bliss Road Access - Klamath County, OR - Rails to Trails on Waymarking.com

The OC&E Woods Line State Trail is Oregon's longest state park at over 105 miles in distance. It begans in Klamath Falls, OR and travels east to Beatty, then diverting north and finally ending at Sycan Marsh, many miles to the north.

This trailhead's access point is just off Bliss Road as you're heading north or south to/from the community of Sprague River. This trailhead is notable for one exciting feature: it's home to a rare double switchback that was used by the Oregon & Eastern Railroad back in the day for logging thousands of feet of lumber from one mill to another. Hikers, bikers and horseback riders can travel on both switchbacks from this trailhead wich loop back to this starting point, or can continue north or south along the main trail as well.

There is a public restroom as well as ample parking for cars or horse trailers. There are also a couple of picnic tables and a historical placard which overlooks Devil's Garden below (a former hydroclastic volcano) that highlights the double switchback and its use when it was a railroad.

From the OC&E Woods Line State Trail official website:

Construction on the OC&E Railroad began in the summer of 1917 as part of a grand plan by Robert Strahorn to connect Klamath Falls by rail lines and take advantage of timber opportunities.

Initial development involved bonds sold by the city of Klamath Falls. After several delays in development, the OC&E was opened in 1923. The line was then jointly operated by Southern Pacific and Burlington Northern from 1925 until 1975. It was then purchased by Weyerhaeuser who solely operated the entire railroad in support of its timber operations.

At peak production in 1978-79, the OC&E was transporting 35,000 loads of wood products per year. However, the recession that affected the US in the 1980s hit the Northwest timber industry especially hard, and many timber companies closed. The OC&E saw a decline in traffic from 1979 to 1982. By the spring of 1990 Weyerhaeuser decided to reduce operations at Klamath Falls. The last logging train into Klamath Falls entered on Sunday April 29, 1990, with local residents lining the track seeking one last glimpse of the logging railroad.

As it was no longer cost effective to move logs by rail, Weyerhaeuser deeded the rail line to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department in 1992, and its conversion to a trail system began.

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There is also a log hauler static display located along the lower switchback which was left to stay when the rails were removed in 1992.

Country: USA State/Province/etc.: OR Trail Start (town): Klamath Falls Trail Finish (town): Sycan Marsh Trail Length: 105 Trail Surface: Gravel/Stone Pack Animals Allowed: yes Fees: no Rail-to-Trail Sign: Oregon State Parks OC&E Trail Internet Link(s): http://www.ocestatetrail.com/ http://www.oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=167

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Date Logged Log User Rating   10/04/2015 Rkoehn1 visited it