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After a rough summer in southwest Oregon, recent rains have provided a baptismal feeling, and it’s time to head out into the backcountry. Catch astounding views this fall on these three ridgetop trails that traverse the Siskiyou highlands. Check the weather and shoot for clear days following stormy weather. That’s when you’ll catch the very clearest skies and capture the longest views. Print the high-resolution maps provided below and pick up a transportation map from the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest office at 3040 Biddle Road in Medford or 2164 Spalding Ave., in Grants Pass. Boundary National Recreation Trail (Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest) Click here for map. Community volunteers and Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest staff have been working hard to bring this trail back to life. They’ve restored a handful of short spur trails, including the Green Valley and Sturgis Fork trails, which provide access to the Boundary National Recreation Trail. Between commanding stands of thriving primeval, true fir forests, you’ll find yourself in high mountain prairies and scrubby ridges. From there you’ll catch views of the Kalmiopsis Rim, high Siskiyous, Mount Shasta, the Red Buttes and the Illinois Valley. The arterial trail is easily accessed from the Applegate, Williams and Illinois valleys and connects the Red Buttes Wilderness to Oregon Caves National Monument. The full trail, from Sucker Gap to the Oregon Caves National Monument, covers about eight miles. Boundary National Recreation Trail (Klamath National Forest) Click here for the map. Confusing, right? And these two national recreation trails actually connect via a complex of historical trails fading from the Red Buttes Wilderness. But for a day hike, get yourself to Cook and Green Pass, which is accessible via the upper Applegate or from Seiad Valley, California. From Cook and Green, head southwest on the Pacific Crest Trail to its junction with the Boundary Trail. This ridgetop trail threads itself along the southern boundary of the Red Buttes Wilderness. Up close catch peaks such as Kangaroo and Rattlesnake mountains. To the south, make out Preston Peak and the Lieutenants. Farther out you’ll see the Cascade Mountains, starting with Shasta to the south, north to Mount McLoughlin, Mount Bailey and Mount Thielsen. When the Siskiyou Mountain Club started working on this trail in 2017, crews were up against massive brush fields and about a decade-long maintenance lull. Now it’s in great shape, but primitive in nature with a narrow bench in places. From its junction with the Pacific Crest Trail to the Goff Butte Trail is about nine and a half miles. Kalmiopsis Rim Trail Click here for the map. The 180,000-acre Kalmiopsis Wilderness Area is known for being inhospitable, and it is, but the Kalmiopsis Rim Trail 1124 is a moderate entry into a heritage wilderness area, designated in the original 1964 Wilderness Act, and there’s no vehicle access, active roads or powerlines like you’ll find in the Soda Mountain Wilderness near Ashland. Check out the views to the west and north, and you may be able to pick out a score of peaks surrounding the Chetco River drainage. On the ground you’ll see for yourself how fire has shaped the landscape. This route is on early 20th century USGS maps, and from the peaks on those maps you can see the surf of the ocean when the sky is exceptionally clear and the ocean isn’t sporting a marine layer. This is not a place you want to be caught in heat waves or storms. From Onion Camp north to Pearsoll Peak is about nine miles. You could also hike south from Onion Camp about 12 miles to Doe Gap. All of these trails are ideal in the fall. Sure you won’t have spring flowers, but you won’t have ticks or intolerable heat either, and they’re too high for poison oak. Catch the clearest skies and most divine moments of warm fall sunshine. Get to them before the snow flies. Each aforementioned route is also a jumping-off point for dozens of day hikes, weekend backpacks, and long trekking opportunities re-emerging in the Siskiyou backwoods. Go for yourself and find an adventure of your own. Always leave no trace, and if you take a picture, send it my way. Gabriel Howe is executive director for Siskiyou Mountain Club. He’s available at [email protected].