Buckrock Tunnel West End
From Ashland, drive east up Highway 66 towards Klamath Falls, approximately 9 miles. Turn right on Buckhorn Springs Road, and drive approximately 0.35 miles to Emigrant Creek Road, just past the bridge across Emigrant Creek. Turn right and drive up Emigrant Creek Road approximately 2.1 miles to the gravel parking area for the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. The GPS location of this lot is approximately N 42 degrees, 6 Minutes, 33.4 seconds; W 122 degrees, 33 minutes, 12.4 seconds. Park, and walk across the road to the right, and past the yellow metal gate. This is the start of your hike.
For this side of the tunnel it is VERY helpful to have a GPS device, such as an app on your smart phone. Hike up this road, without taking any side roads. You will be able to see I 5 on the hillside across the valley much of the way. Do not take the left turn onto the side road leading to the East end of the tunnel. Rather, continue ahead on the main road, avoiding all left and right branches of secondary roads and past the remnant of a small round pond (a “pump pond”) on the left (It's mostly dried up.). Continue until close to the GPS coordinates for the West tunnel, which is then reached by heading up from the road to the left, and looping back along the old road bed excavated for the tunnel, until you see the tunnel entrance, which is fully exposed, unlike the East tunnel entrance. The yellow SOHS marker is on a small ridge to the left, above the tunnel floor.
The Marker reads:
SITE OF THE WEST PORTAL OF THE ORE. AND CALIF RAILROAD COMPANY’S
UNCOMPLETED “BUCK ROCK TUNNEL”
CONSTRUCTION COMMENCED AUG. 17, 1883
WORK ABANDONED FEB 8, 1884
Southern Oregon Historical Society 1977
Information from Mark Lawrence in 1977:
Markers are located at both portals of the abandoned Buck Rock Tunnel located in Sec. 14, T 40 S, R 2 E. This tunnel was started in November, 1883, and abandoned in February, 1884. It is reached by a BLM road leaving the Buckhorn Springs Road a short distance above Highway 66 on the right side and various logging roads. Visitors not familiar with the area should obtain the services of someone who has been into the tunnel before. If you plan on entering the tunnel, take a big flashlight or gas lantern and wear a hard hat as the old timbering has entirely disappeared. Loose rock on the tunnel floor indicates that rocks do fall at various times and are large enough to cause serious head injuries. The borings penetrate the mountain about 300 feet on the east side and 200 feet on the west side.
