Switchbacks

The Switchbacks Trailhead provides access to the OC&E Trail and Devil?s Garden. The OC&E Trail is a 109 mile long Rail to Trail that travels from Klamath Falls, OR to Bly with a secondary Woods Line section that travels north to the Sycan Marsh. The trail is open to non-motorized users and much of it can be accessed year round. Original construction plans for the OC&E Railine called for a tunnel through Bly Mountain but funds ran short, and crews instead built what was to be a temporary double switchback over the hill. This switchback was the last of its kind in the U.S., operating until the rail line shut down in 1990. Devils Garden is a hydroclastic volcano, where the magma erupted in water and cooled in blobs and pillow breccias. A heavy dose of Mount Mazama ash was deposited 7,700 years ago to make walking easy along dune-like pyroclastic ridges. Small windows and breccia formations, along with bonsai-like junipers and ponderosas, allow for a fascinating exploration. There are no designated trails in this area and motorized vehicles of all sizes are prohibited.