The Long Way
Siskiyou County
A paved road runs alongside a canyon with mountains in the background.
Plate I. Highway 96, State of Jefferson Scenic Byway. Photograph by Robert Ashworth from Bellingham, WA., USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A dense evergreen forest shrouded in fog.
Plate II. Misty forest, State of Jefferson Scenic Byway. From discoversiskiyou.com
A river flows through a rocky landscape surrounded by forested mountains and blue skies.
Plate III. Klamath River along State of Jefferson Scenic Byway. From discoversiskiyou.com
A green highway bridge spans a river through a dense forested mountainous landscape.
Plate IV. Bridge along State of Jefferson Scenic Byway. From discoversiskiyou.com

State of Jefferson Scenic Byway (Highway 96/263)

Happy Camp, Siskiyou County, California. Scenic byways.

Details

Map. Happy Camp, Siskiyou County, California. Larger map
Where
Highway 96, Happy Camp, CA. Directions
Season
Grayback Road will be undergoing repairs in the Granite Creek slide area from July 6 through September.
Getting there
The State of Jefferson Byway also follows Hwy 96 from Pioneer Bridge to Happy Camp and then over Greyback Road to O'Brien, OR at US Hwy 199.
Fees
Six Forest Service campgrounds have fee boxes.
Access
No traffic restrictions are reported for this area.
Phone
1-800-427-7623
Managed by
California Department of Transportation.
Established
1992.

State of Jefferson Scenic Byway is managed by Department of Transportation. From the 1941 state capitol of Yreka, California, take Hwy. 263 North over five Pioneer bridges to Hwy. 96. Meander along the Klamath River West to the remote, friendly town of Happy Camp.

Notable Events

  1. 1929Five bridges, then considered engineering marvels, created the Highway 263 section from Yreka to Highway 96. shastacascade.com
  2. 1941Yreka was designated capital of the proposed State of Jefferson. ci.yreka.ca.us
  3. 1941The Pearl Harbor attack ended the episode on December 7, and the former Jeffersonians pledged loyalty to the war effort on December 8. oregonencyclopedia.org
  4. 1992The State of Jefferson Scenic Byway was designated a Forest Service Byway. nsbfoundation.com

People

  • Gilbert Gable, Entrepreneur, railroad speculator, and mayor of Port Orford who initiated the 1941 Jefferson movement (1941).
  • Randolph Collier, California state senator for Siskiyou County who joined the Jefferson effort and helped make Yreka its capital.

Sources

  1. fhwaapps.fhwa.dot.gov/bywaysp/byway/2192
  2. fs.usda.gov/r05/klamath/recreation/opportunities/scenic-drives
  3. recreation.gov/camping/gateways/13859
  4. fs.usda.gov/r05/klamath/alerts
  5. roads.dot.ca.gov/?roadnumber=96
  6. discoversiskiyou.com/activities/highway-96
  7. upstateca.com/account/state-of-jefferson-scenic-byway
  8. nsbfoundation.com/sb/state-of-jefferson-scenic-byway-route-96-263
  9. oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/state_of_jefferson
  10. ci.yreka.ca.us/302/History-of-Yreka