The Cascade National Forest was first withdrawn from the public domain in 1893 and set off under its present name in 1911. It has an area in public lands of over 1,000,000 acres, being about 1/3 larger than the state of Rhode Island. Roughly, it extends from McKenzie Pass on the north to Cowhorn Moutain on the South, and to Mount June and Reserve on the West. It includes practically all the head waters of both the McKenzie and Willamette Rivers. Some idea of the investment value may be gained from these figures--the gross income from this forest for fiscal year, 1929, was $137,000; part of which is paid to Oregon and Lane County for road and country purposes, and the balance used in protecting and developing the forest. The Reserve now has 858 miles of trails and 802 miles more of "ways" or rougher trails used in fire protection. It contains 105 miles of road built at a cost of $245,000; and has 550 miles of telephone. Primarily, the Cascase National Forest is a great reserve of timber, water and forage. But its secondary purpose, as a place of recreation, is growing in importance very rapidly. The men who administer the forest have a high sense of public service, and the traveler will almost invariably find the Forest Service man to be both well informed and eager to be of assistance.
The McKenzie River is a distinctive stream. It has clear, cold water, a swift current from the headwaters to its mouth, and a steep, narrow valley. The cold, swift water produces fighting trout and the river is one of the best known fishing streams of the country. A fine highway parallels the river for over forty miles and the narrow valley brings road and river together frequently and affords some wonderful river scenes. Being fed in part from snow water the river has a steady flow, both summer and winter. This steadiness in flow and the swift current gives the river great potential power resources and Eugene has already taken advantage of them and depends on the McKenzie for both hydro-electric power and water supply. The river probably gets its name from Donald McKenzie, a member of Astor's fur company who traveled up the valley in 1812 on an exploring trip.
Snow in fir timber lays a spell of matchless quiet and peace. Oregon's highway system now gives access to high mountains and winter sports which were formerly inaccessible. The McKenzie Pass is of course closed by snow in the winter, but the highways leading toward the Pass on both sides are fine all year roads. Lost Creek is 66 miles from Eugene.
