Audio Tour
Portland to Crater Lake National Park
269miles
36stops
4h29m
Listen — all 36 stops free
1
Portland Tore Down a Freeway for This
Mile 0 — Portland
In 1978, Portland demolished the Harbor Drive freeway that ran right along the Willamette River here and replaced it with Tom McCall Waterfront Park.
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2
Marquam Bridge and Its Controversial Past
Mile 1 — Portland
The bridge you're crossing right now is the Marquam Bridge, and it's widely considered one of Portland's ugliest structures.
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3
OMSI and the USS Blueback Submarine
Mile 1 — Portland
That large building near the east bank of the Willamette is the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, known as OMSI.
0:00
4
Southwest Portland Hills and Buried Creek
Mile 6
You're driving through the southwest hills of Portland, an area built on Columbia River basalt that erupted from massive fissures in eastern Oregon roughly fifteen…
0:00
5
Tualatin Valley and Kalapuya Fire Management
Mile 11 — Portland
You're crossing the Tualatin River drainage, and the name itself is a clue to who shaped this landscape.
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6
Wilsonville and the Missoula Floods Legacy
Mile 17 — Wilsonville
You're passing through Wilsonville, which sits on terrain shaped by one of the most violent geological events in North American history.
0:00
7
Aurora Colony and the Utopian Experiment
Mile 23
The town you're passing through, Aurora, was founded in 1856 as a communal utopian colony by William Keil, a Prussian-born leader who brought followers here from Bethel,…
0:00
8
Woodburn's Agricultural Roots and Latino Heritage
Mile 30 — Woodburn
Woodburn has the highest percentage of Latino residents of any city in Oregon, around forty percent.
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9
The Willamette River Runs Through Everything
Mile 37
The Willamette River is pacing you right now, running roughly parallel to I-5 through this stretch.
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10
Salem, Oregon's Purpose-Built Capital City
Mile 45 — Salem
You're passing through Salem, Oregon's capital since 1851 and one of the oldest cities in the Pacific Northwest.
0:00
11
South Salem and the Valley Floor
Mile 50
The flat terrain you're driving through sits at roughly 200 feet above sea level, part of the broadest section of the Willamette Valley floor.
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12
Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge Wetlands
Mile 55 — Jefferson
The flat, open terrain you're passing near Jefferson is part of the Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1965 specifically to protect one bird: the dusky…
0:00
13
Linn County's Grass Seed Capital
Mile 61
You're driving through the heart of the world's largest grass seed producing region.
0:00
14
Albany's Unmatched Historic Architecture Collection
Mile 67 — Albany
Albany holds one of the largest intact collections of historic buildings in Oregon — over seven hundred structures representing every major American architectural style…
0:00
15
Albany and the Calapooia River Crossing
Mile 67 — Albany
The river you're crossing here is the Calapooia, named for the Calapooia band of the Kalapuya people.
0:00
16
The Willamette Valley Floor Near Harrisburg
Mile 88
You're driving across some of the most productive farmland in North America.
0:00
17
Eugene and the Birth of Nike
Mile 108 — Eugene
In 1971, University of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman ruined his wife's waffle iron by pouring liquid urethane rubber into it, trying to create a lighter shoe sole…
0:00
18
Eugene and the Start of OR-58
Mile 110 — Eugene
You're leaving Eugene and heading toward the Middle Fork Willamette River canyon, a route that changed American environmental policy.
0:00
19
Pleasant Hill and the Valley's Eastern Edge
Mile 118
You're passing through Pleasant Hill, one of the first communities settlers established east of Eugene in the 1840s.
0:00
20
Lookout Point Dam and Its Drowned Towns
Mile 127 — Lowell
The reservoir you're driving alongside is Lookout Point Lake, created when the Army Corps of Engineers completed a two hundred seventy-six foot tall concrete dam in 1954.
0:00
21
The Middle Fork Willamette River Canyon
Mile 136
You're driving through one of the most active landslide zones in Oregon.
0:00
22
Westfir and Oregon's Longest Covered Bridge
Mile 146 — Oakridge
Just a few miles from here, the tiny town of Westfir is home to the Office Bridge, Oregon's longest covered bridge at 180 feet.
0:00
23
Oakridge From Timber Town to Trail Hub
Mile 148 — Oakridge
Oakridge lost nearly half its jobs when federal timber sales in the Willamette National Forest dropped by over ninety percent in the early 1990s, largely due to…
0:00
24
Volcanic Heat Beneath the Cascades
Mile 153 — Oakridge
The hot springs along Salt Creek near here are heated by the same volcanic plumbing that builds Cascade peaks.
0:00
25
Salt Creek Falls Ancient Volcanic Plunge
Mile 153 — Oakridge
Salt Creek Falls drops two hundred eighty-six feet in a single plunge, making it the second-highest single-drop waterfall in Oregon.
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26
Odell Lake and Its Glacial Origins
Mile 153 — Oakridge
Odell Lake, just ahead, sits in one of the most textbook glacial basins in Oregon.
0:00
27
The Middle Fork Willamette River Corridor
Mile 163
The river you've been following for much of this stretch is the Middle Fork of the Willamette, one of three major tributaries that form Oregon's most important waterway.
0:00
28
Willamette Pass and the Cascade Divide
Mile 173 — Crescent
You're crossing Willamette Pass right now at about five thousand one hundred twenty-eight feet, one of the lowest highway crossings of the Cascade Range in Oregon.
0:00
29
Pacific Crest Trail Crosses the Highway
Mile 174 — Crescent
The Pacific Crest Trail crosses OR-58 near here, one of the few places where a major highway intersects this twenty-six-fifty-mile footpath running from the Mexican…
0:00
30
Rain Shadow Transforms the Forest
Mile 181 — Crescent Lake
The Cascade Range wrings moisture from Pacific storms so effectively that annual precipitation drops from over sixty inches on the western slopes to under twenty inches…
0:00
31
Crescent Lake and the High Desert Transition
Mile 194
You're passing through the community of Crescent, which sits at about forty-four hundred feet elevation on the eastern flank of the Cascades.
0:00
32
Chemult and the Pumice Desert Below
Mile 206 — Chemult
Chemult is one of the smallest communities in Oregon with an active Amtrak station.
0:00
33
Williamson River and the Klamath Basin Wetlands
Mile 222
The Williamson River, which you'll cross near Chiloquin, is one of the most productive wild trout streams in Oregon.
0:00
34
Chiloquin and the Pumice Desert Floor
Mile 239 — Chiloquin
The ground beneath you here is not ordinary soil.
0:00
35
Klamath Tribes and the Williamson River Valley
Mile 250
The Williamson River, which you crossed back in Chiloquin, is one of the most important spawning rivers for the Lost River sucker and shortnose sucker — two fish species…
0:00
36
Fort Klamath and the Modoc War
Mile 261 — Fort Klamath
Fort Klamath is where one of the most consequential military trials in the American West took place.
0:00
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Listen — all 36 stops free
1
Portland Tore Down a Freeway for This
Mile 0 — Portland
In 1978, Portland demolished the Harbor Drive freeway that ran right along the Willamette River here and replaced it with Tom McCall Waterfront Park.
0:00
2
Marquam Bridge and Its Controversial Past
Mile 1 — Portland
The bridge you're crossing right now is the Marquam Bridge, and it's widely considered one of Portland's ugliest structures.
0:00
3
OMSI and the USS Blueback Submarine
Mile 1 — Portland
That large building near the east bank of the Willamette is the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, known as OMSI.
0:00
4
Southwest Portland Hills and Buried Creek
Mile 6
You're driving through the southwest hills of Portland, an area built on Columbia River basalt that erupted from massive fissures in eastern Oregon roughly fifteen…
0:00
5
Tualatin Valley and Kalapuya Fire Management
Mile 11 — Portland
You're crossing the Tualatin River drainage, and the name itself is a clue to who shaped this landscape.
0:00
6
Wilsonville and the Missoula Floods Legacy
Mile 17 — Wilsonville
You're passing through Wilsonville, which sits on terrain shaped by one of the most violent geological events in North American history.
0:00
7
Aurora Colony and the Utopian Experiment
Mile 23
The town you're passing through, Aurora, was founded in 1856 as a communal utopian colony by William Keil, a Prussian-born leader who brought followers here from Bethel,…
0:00
8
Woodburn's Agricultural Roots and Latino Heritage
Mile 30 — Woodburn
Woodburn has the highest percentage of Latino residents of any city in Oregon, around forty percent.
0:00
9
The Willamette River Runs Through Everything
Mile 37
The Willamette River is pacing you right now, running roughly parallel to I-5 through this stretch.
0:00
10
Salem, Oregon's Purpose-Built Capital City
Mile 45 — Salem
You're passing through Salem, Oregon's capital since 1851 and one of the oldest cities in the Pacific Northwest.
0:00
11
South Salem and the Valley Floor
Mile 50
The flat terrain you're driving through sits at roughly 200 feet above sea level, part of the broadest section of the Willamette Valley floor.
0:00
12
Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge Wetlands
Mile 55 — Jefferson
The flat, open terrain you're passing near Jefferson is part of the Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1965 specifically to protect one bird: the dusky…
0:00
13
Linn County's Grass Seed Capital
Mile 61
You're driving through the heart of the world's largest grass seed producing region.
0:00
14
Albany's Unmatched Historic Architecture Collection
Mile 67 — Albany
Albany holds one of the largest intact collections of historic buildings in Oregon — over seven hundred structures representing every major American architectural style…
0:00
15
Albany and the Calapooia River Crossing
Mile 67 — Albany
The river you're crossing here is the Calapooia, named for the Calapooia band of the Kalapuya people.
0:00
16
The Willamette Valley Floor Near Harrisburg
Mile 88
You're driving across some of the most productive farmland in North America.
0:00
17
Eugene and the Birth of Nike
Mile 108 — Eugene
In 1971, University of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman ruined his wife's waffle iron by pouring liquid urethane rubber into it, trying to create a lighter shoe sole…
0:00
18
Eugene and the Start of OR-58
Mile 110 — Eugene
You're leaving Eugene and heading toward the Middle Fork Willamette River canyon, a route that changed American environmental policy.
0:00
19
Pleasant Hill and the Valley's Eastern Edge
Mile 118
You're passing through Pleasant Hill, one of the first communities settlers established east of Eugene in the 1840s.
0:00
20
Lookout Point Dam and Its Drowned Towns
Mile 127 — Lowell
The reservoir you're driving alongside is Lookout Point Lake, created when the Army Corps of Engineers completed a two hundred seventy-six foot tall concrete dam in 1954.
0:00
21
The Middle Fork Willamette River Canyon
Mile 136
You're driving through one of the most active landslide zones in Oregon.
0:00
22
Westfir and Oregon's Longest Covered Bridge
Mile 146 — Oakridge
Just a few miles from here, the tiny town of Westfir is home to the Office Bridge, Oregon's longest covered bridge at 180 feet.
0:00
23
Oakridge From Timber Town to Trail Hub
Mile 148 — Oakridge
Oakridge lost nearly half its jobs when federal timber sales in the Willamette National Forest dropped by over ninety percent in the early 1990s, largely due to…
0:00
24
Volcanic Heat Beneath the Cascades
Mile 153 — Oakridge
The hot springs along Salt Creek near here are heated by the same volcanic plumbing that builds Cascade peaks.
0:00
25
Salt Creek Falls Ancient Volcanic Plunge
Mile 153 — Oakridge
Salt Creek Falls drops two hundred eighty-six feet in a single plunge, making it the second-highest single-drop waterfall in Oregon.
0:00
26
Odell Lake and Its Glacial Origins
Mile 153 — Oakridge
Odell Lake, just ahead, sits in one of the most textbook glacial basins in Oregon.
0:00
27
The Middle Fork Willamette River Corridor
Mile 163
The river you've been following for much of this stretch is the Middle Fork of the Willamette, one of three major tributaries that form Oregon's most important waterway.
0:00
28
Willamette Pass and the Cascade Divide
Mile 173 — Crescent
You're crossing Willamette Pass right now at about five thousand one hundred twenty-eight feet, one of the lowest highway crossings of the Cascade Range in Oregon.
0:00
29
Pacific Crest Trail Crosses the Highway
Mile 174 — Crescent
The Pacific Crest Trail crosses OR-58 near here, one of the few places where a major highway intersects this twenty-six-fifty-mile footpath running from the Mexican…
0:00
30
Rain Shadow Transforms the Forest
Mile 181 — Crescent Lake
The Cascade Range wrings moisture from Pacific storms so effectively that annual precipitation drops from over sixty inches on the western slopes to under twenty inches…
0:00
31
Crescent Lake and the High Desert Transition
Mile 194
You're passing through the community of Crescent, which sits at about forty-four hundred feet elevation on the eastern flank of the Cascades.
0:00
32
Chemult and the Pumice Desert Below
Mile 206 — Chemult
Chemult is one of the smallest communities in Oregon with an active Amtrak station.
0:00
33
Williamson River and the Klamath Basin Wetlands
Mile 222
The Williamson River, which you'll cross near Chiloquin, is one of the most productive wild trout streams in Oregon.
0:00
34
Chiloquin and the Pumice Desert Floor
Mile 239 — Chiloquin
The ground beneath you here is not ordinary soil.
0:00
35
Klamath Tribes and the Williamson River Valley
Mile 250
The Williamson River, which you crossed back in Chiloquin, is one of the most important spawning rivers for the Lost River sucker and shortnose sucker — two fish species…
0:00
36
Fort Klamath and the Modoc War
Mile 261 — Fort Klamath
Fort Klamath is where one of the most consequential military trials in the American West took place.
0:00