Skip to main content

Oregon Route 36

 


Twisting its way far through the Coast Ranges and along the Siuslaw River (among other bodies of water) between Mapleton and Junction City, Oregon is Oregon Route 36, also known as the Mapleton-Junction City Highway. For much of its length of 51.58 miles, OR 36 is a quiet, winding road, weaving its way through logging country, farmland, and small communities across Lane County, Oregon. The highway passes through places on its way between OR 126 and OR 99, such as Swisshome, Deadwood, and Triangle Lake before reaching the Willamette Valley. OR 36 also comprised part of the routing for former US 28 west of Eugene. Before modern-day OR 126 was built west of Eugene, what is now OR 36 between Brickerville and Junction City was part of the way to travel between Eugene and the Oregon Coast. 

I found OR 36 to be a quiet, enjoyable drive going through an often overlooked area of the Coast Ranges. I also found a few surprises along the way which were interesting and helped tell the story of the life and the times along the highway. I took the highway going east from Mapleton to Junction City.

OR 36 begins in Mapleton, named for its bigleaf maple trees.

Early on, you'll find that OR 36 goes through some pretty countryside.

OR 36 can be a pretty narrow road, as it is sandwiched between the hills of the Coast Ranges, the Siuslaw River and a railroad (I believe the rail line is part of the Southern Pacific Railroad).

I took my drive in March, but I'm guessing that when leaves are on the trees, it provides a fun canopy to drive under.

OR 36 is hugging the real estate between the Siuslaw River and the railroad again.

A beehive burner found just west of Swisshome. A wood waste burner, known as a teepee burner or wigwam burner in the United States and a beehive burner in Canada. Wood waste burners went out of general use in the Pacific Northwest in the early 1970s, and are prohibited from operation in Oregon. Wood waste used to dispose of waste wood in logging yards and sawdust from sawmills by incineration, but due to creating poor air quality, their use has fallen out of fashion. You can still find intact wood waste burners here and there.

Entering Swisshome.

Railroad bridge over the Siuslaw River.

Continuing east, we have a sign showing distances to Triangle Lake and Junction City. Triangle Lake is roughly the halfway point of OR 36.

Continuing east, OR 36 remains a quiet country drive.

Siuslaw River on the right.

Crossing the Indian Creek at Indiola.

At times, OR 36 felt narrower than some country roads. This was one of those times.

Entering Deadwood. On the other side of Deadwood is Deadwood Creek Road, which you can take to the Deadwood Covered Bridge a few miles away.

Crossing the Siuslaw River. In Deadwood, the Siuslaw River veers away from OR 36, and the road starts following Lake Creek instead.

I just liked this photo along with the mix of deciduous and evergreen trees in the background.

As we get past Deadwood, we encounter some pastures for a change.

The Nelson Mountain Covered Bridge (or Lake Creek Covered Bridge) is just off of OR 36 on Nelson Mountain Road near Deadwood. The 105 foot long covered bridge was built in 1928 at a cost of $3,155.

The pastures are a bit of a contrast to the riverside drive that OR 36 followed west of Deadwood.

Crossing Greenleaf Creek. The community of Greenleaf is actually west of Greenleaf Creek.

Now we get into the twisting curves again.

A nice rock wall to our left as well.

That might be Triangle Lake in the distance.

Turn right to go to Triangle Lake Park, which is a Lane County park with a small beach on the lake.

Driving along Triangle Lake.

The Sumich Round Barn along OR 36 in Blachly, Oregon. While the round barn is in disrepair now, this particular barn has an unique design for barns in the state of Oregon, and was built between 1946 and 1949.

Continuing east on OR 36 through the Lake Creek Valley.

But we are starting to climb through the eastern stretches of the Coast Ranges and towards the Willamette Valley.

OR 36 tops off at just under 1,100 feet in elevation.

Descending towards Low Pass and the Long Tom River.

Back to pastures mixed in with trees.

The road to Noti will take you to OR 126.

The curiously named Poodle Creek Road is to your right.

OR 36 really starts to straighten out east from here.

As OR 36 descends into the Willamette Valley, we have reached the communities of Goldson and Cheshire.

The Territorial Highway is actually a long north-south road, going from OR 99W in Monroe south to Curtin, near the intersection of I-5 and OR 38.

But closer by locations along the Territorial Highway are Elmira and Veneta, both around where the road meets OR 126.

OR 36 may be the way to go if you're headed towards parts of Eugene. Upon looking at a map, OR 36 to OR 99 is a fairly direct way to get to Eugene from places like Cheshire and Junction City.

Speaking of Cheshire, Oregon.

Once we pass Cheshire, we get back into the farm country of the Willamette Valley.

The foothills of the Cascades are off to the distance, on the other side of I-5.

Approaching OR 99 and the end of our journey along OR 36.

At OR 99, you have options at OR 36's eastern end. You can go north to Junction City and then continue on OR 99E or OR 99W, or venture south to Eugene, which is one of Oregon's largest cities.



How to Get There:



Sources and Links:
Motorcycle Roads Northwest - Oregon State Route 36 “Mapleton-Junction City Highway”
US Ends.com - End of US Highway 28
ORoads - US Route 28
Oregon Department of Transportation - 2020 Oregon Mileage Report (PDF)
Ride With GPS - Eugene-Florence One Way

Comments

Vizier said…
Also minorly of note is that one of the flight paths into Eugene Airport flies relatively low over OR-36 about a mile or two west of the Eastern terminus. Whenever flying into Eugene, even from the South, planes will usually go past the airport and loop back, making a low approach over Junction City and OR36.

Popular posts from this blog

Former US Route 101 through Sargent

  Sargent is a ghost town and siding of the Southern Pacific Railroad located in southern Santa Clara County.  The original alignment of US Route 101 was aligned through Sargent via what is now known as Old Monterey Road.  Sargent was bypassed gradually due to shifts of the alignment of US Route 101 which occurred during 1941 and 1950.  Pictured as the blog cover is a view on Old Monterey Road which is now no longer accessible to the general public.  Below is a scan of the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Santa Clara County which depicts the original alignment US Route 101 through Sargent.   Part 1; the history of US Route 101 in Sargent Sargent lies on land which was once part of Rancho Juristac.  During 1856 James P. Sargent purchased Rancho Juristac and plotted what was known as Sargent Ranch.  By 1869 the Southern Pacific Railroad coast line reached the relocated town site of Gilroy.  The Southern Pacific Railroad coast line would be constructed through Chittenden Pass by 1871 whic

Tulare Lake returns

During the winter of 2023 California experienced one of the wettest seasons in recent decades.  Enough snow and water were deposited into the Sierra Nevada Mountains that the runoff was enough to partially reform Tulare Lake within San Joaquin Valley.  Tulare Lake was once the largest lake west of the Mississippi River by surface area.  Tulare Lake has been largely dried for the past century due to irrigation divisions and upstream impoundments.  This blog will examine the history of Tulare Lake and its recent return.  Pictured as the blog cover is Tulare Lake from 19th Avenue in Kings County during early May 2023.  Tulare Lake can be seen near its maximum extent below on the 1876 P.Y. Baker Map of Tulare County .   Part 1; the history of Tulare Lake Tulare Lake is the largest remnant of Lake Corcoran.  Lake Corcoran once covered much of the entire Central Valley due to being it being located at a in natural low point from where mountain run-off would accumulate.  Lake Corcoran is thou

US Route 95 in California

US Route 95 within California exists within San Bernardino County and Riverside County.  US Route 95 within California is approximately 130 miles factoring multiplexes along Interstate 10 and Interstate 40.  US Route 95 in California begins at the Arizona state line along the Colorado River near Blythe in Riverside County.  US Route 95 follows the general course of the Colorado River north through the Sonoran Desert to the Mojave Desert towards Needles of San Bernadino County.  US Route 95 enters Nevada north of Interstate 40 and the historic alignment of US Route 66.  US Route 95 was extended to Blythe, California during July 1939.  Upon US Route 95 entering California during 1939 it overlapped and deleted much of the original California State Route 195.  US Route 95 was extended from Blythe into Arizona during June 1960.   Part 1; the history of US Route 95 in California The corridor of modern-day US Route 95 in California first came to prominence during the run-up to the creation of