Klamath River Scenery, California

After climbing I-5 through the Siskiyou Mountain Range from Ashland Oregon you cross the border into California and the Klamath National Forest. A welcome sight for many a weary traveler is the signs to the Randolf Collier Safety Roadside Rest Area.

Randolph’s name seems to be misspelled in several places as Randolf, but he was a California Senator from the area who is nicknamed “The Father of California’s Freeways,” as one of the co-authors of the Collier-Burns Highway Act of 1947.

Many visitors to the area simply get back onto I-5, but anyone who does this misses one of the most scenic drives around along highways 96 and 263 to Yreka. It’s a simple matter of turning right instead of left to get back to the highway, and then taking the first left, and access back to I-5 is easy enough in Yreka.

<img src="http://PNWPhotoBlog.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2012/10/Abandoned-Brick-House-1024×768.jpg" alt="Klamath River Scenery, California" title="Klamath River Scenery, California" width="1024" height="768" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1969"

Several abandoned houses dot the river banks below. Most are amazingly picturesque for what they are.

The of course, there are the amazing views. Few river valleys have the same types of views in my opinion, especially where the hills across the river are so close.

Of course, the Klamath River winds through this valley.