Skip to main content

Wonderful adventures here for families to share, and most are FREE.

  • Calm waters for paddling and fishing, wide rural roads for biking, and easy trails for family hikes.
  • Train Mountain Railroad Museum – Longest miniature railroad, with over 30 miles of track, the world’s largest privately owned caboose collection, and over 60 full-size rolling stock.  FREE self-guided walking tours Mon-Friday, and call to see if rail tours are available when you plan to visit.   Open  M-F, 9 am – 2 pm, with self-guided walking tours and video tours.  36941 S. Chiloquin Road.
  • Klamath & Western Railroad –FREE summer Saturday rides on 2 miles of track.  Next door to Train Mountain.
  • Fort Klamath Museum – Visit with a “real” cavalry guide, see memorabilia and a model of the 1860s military fort, view Modoc Indian graves, and visit an old school house.  52699 Hwy 62.
  • Collier State Park Logging Museum – Expansive outdoor logging museum and pioneer village, with Junior Ranger activities.  Open year-round. 46000 Hwy 97 N.
  • Collier State Park Day and evening summer programs –  Learn from a mountain man, search for Bigfoot, or watch a blacksmith.
  • Perrins Past & Present – Year-round wander through  a “museum” of things to buy and watch Ross run the portable sawmill. Closed Tuesday. 27600 Hwy 97.
  • Winter weekend guided snowshoe walks in Crater Lake National Park.  Free with paid park admission.
  • Tubing and sledding at Annie Creek Snow Park.
  • Annual parades, pow wows, outdoor concerts, rodeos, community celebrations, and historic recreations.

…and other adventures are a real bargain.

If you don’t bring your own, rent a boat, canoe, or kayak at Lake of the Woods Resort, Fish Lake Resort, Rocky Point Resort, or Harriman Springs Resort.  Sky Lakes Wilderness Adventures rents and delivers kayaks, bikes, and binocs, while Crater Lake ZipLine rents and delivers kayaks.  Fish Lake Resort even rents ice fishing gear!

Come, explore, and enjoy this special area with your family!

Family reunion at Klamath & Western
Sasquatch Hollow
Fort Klamath Museum, Heritage Days

Upper Klamath Canoe Trail

Klamath Tribes Restoration Pow Wow

Spring

The warm days of April and May draw early canoeists and kayakers to marshes alive with bird songs.  Around Memorial Day, seasonal resorts open, snow leaves the lower trails, fishing takes off, and the camping season begins. Cyclists, hikers, birders, fishermen, and kayakers enjoy the fresh green landscape and high waters.

Summer

Summer brings even more outdoor recreational opportunities, as the high-elevation lakes and trails become accessible.  Lodging fills up quickly, so make your reservations early.  Around Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes in July and August are many community and Tribal celebrations.

Fall

September and October are beautiful with warm, sunny days, crisp nights, and colorful aspen–weeks of sunshine and mild temperatures.  Hunters and fishermen find sporting locations in the rivers, marshes, and mountain lakes.

Winter

Thanksgiving usually brings the first snow, with a new world transformed by pure white, accompanied by green pines and firs, and eye-popping blue skies.  Over 350 miles of public trails invite snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, and dog sledding, with several designated Nordic-only areas.

Great Meadows Sno-Park is popular with snowmobilers and kiteboarders. The old Tomahawk ski hill, the snow play area at at Annie Creek Sno-Park, and many of the lower trails accessible from the highways are great spots for sledders and tubers. Parking permits, required at Annie Creek, Great Meadow, and Summit Sno-Parks, are available at Lake of the Woods Resort. Fish Lake Resort rents and sells equipment for the hardy ice fishermen who frequent the mountain lakes.  Sky Lakes Wilderness Adventures rents snowshoes, and the Ledge in Klamath Falls rents snowshoes and cross country skies.

The beautiful Collier Ice Arena at Running Y Ranch Resort has hockey, curling, and skating. Crater Lake National Park offers very popular FREE guided weekend snowshoe tours that usually run from November through April.  ROE! Real Oregon Experience also offers snowshoe tours.

Whatever the activity, whatever the season, enjoy it here without noisy crowds. Check our Be Prepared page for some safety tips.

Klamath Tribes Youth Rodeo
Rocky Point Summer Festival
Mushing near Crystal Creek Lodge
Lake of the Woods
Crater Lake
Rocky Point Resort

WE NEED YOUR HELP!  We have a crisis on our public lands and waterways just south of Crater Lake, with alarming increases in careless resource damage, trash and human waste, and lack of respect for neighboring private lands.  PLEASE recreate responsibly, so these special places stay open for public use.

We want your adventures here to be memorable—for all the right reasons!  So, to assure you take home only good memories, please follow these guidelines:

  • Water, water, water – Take  it and drink it, lots of it.  This means everyone, including paddlers and fishermen.
  • Mosquito repellant– Find one that works and use it.
  • Safety in the sun– Our higher elevations and lakes intensify and reflect sunshine, so wear sunglasses, a good hat, and sun screen.
  • Maps & GPS– Keep reference materials handy and stay oriented.  Respect private lands.
  • Communication –Cell phone reception is spotty around our mountains.  Tell someone where you’re going and your expected return time.
  • Common sense– Don’t leave food out and don’t lure wild animals and birds with goodies.
  • Be aware – Changing winds affect water conditions and safety; changing weather may require an alternate plan.
  • Watch your watch – Our area is so entrancing and captivating that explorers can lose track of time. Know what time the sun sets and plan any day-trip adventures to return before dark. If you don’t reach your destination by the half-way time, then simply shrug your shoulders and head back. There’s always another day.

Wilderness and outback hikers, bikers, and horseback riders face additional challenges and should be equipped with the Ten Essentials:

  1. Navigation: map and compass
  2. Fire: matches or lighters
  3. Signaling Device: whistle or mirror–three blasts on a whistle repeated at intervals is a recognized distress signal
  4. Sun Protection: sunglasses and sunblock
  5. Insulation: layers and rain shell, extra clothing
  6. Nutrition: extra food and hydration, extra water and/or the means to make more
  7. Illumination: flashlight/headlamp
  8. First Aid Kit: including necessary prescription medications
  9. Emergency Shelter: large trash bag, space blanket, tarp, bivy sack, or tent
  10. Knife
  11. Bonus: Repair Kit: including tools specific to your activity boating, cycling, hiking, etc.