The West Cascades Scenic Byway between the McKenzie River and Westfir is one of my favorite locations for fall color in Oregon. Passing through two major river drainages, Forest Road 19 in the Willamette National Forest is also known as Aufderheide Memorial Drive; The road was named in honor of Robert Aufderheide, a long-time USFS forester in the region.
My guidebook Photographing Oregon has a detailed description of the route on pages 201-204, but due to a massive landslide and a major wildfire last summer, the northern half of this route is closed. It will likely be many months before the Forest Service is able to re-open the road from Cougar Reservoir on the McKenzie River heading south.
UPDATE: The Scenic Byway is fully open again, although there may be winter closures in the Box Canyon area due to snow blocking the road.
It is still possible to enjoy much of the beauty of this forested route. Starting at Highway 58 and the community of Westfir, the road follows the North Fork Middle Fork of the Willamette River for about 30 miles to the closure at Box Canyon.
While there are numerous photo ops right along the road, you’ll find even more if you hike the North Fork Trail. This easy trail follows the North Fork Middle Fork Willamette River for several miles, with several trailheads along the West Cascades Scenic Byway providing access. The trail is an ongoing project with the USFS, and some sections are missing or in bad shape. I hiked north from the trailhead at Forest Road 1912 and had to turn around after a couple of miles due to a collapsed bridge.
Peak fall color in this part of the Cascade Mountains is generally around mid-October. Soon after the first fall rains, the area is great for mushroom hunting and photography.
Tech notes: The photos above were made with a Nikon Z7, 24-120 and 70-200mm Nikon lenses, and Breakthrough Filters X4 Polarizers.
Enjoy this beautiful forest and let me know what you find!
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