Buckeye and Cliff Lakes

Buckeye Lake

  • Easy (to lakes)
  • 3.4 miles round-trip
  • 700 feet elevation gain
  • Open mid-May through November
  • Use: hikers, horses


  • Moderate (to Grasshopper Mountain)
  • 8.8-mile loop
  • 1980 feet elevation gain
  • Open late June to early November


A monumental landslide crumbled half of Grasshopper Mountain about 1000 years ago, damming the Fish Lake Valley with 4 square miles of jumbled debris. Surprisingly, the scene of this ancient disaster has become one of the loveliest subalpine landscapes anywhere. An easy 1.4-mile trail, perfect for hikers with children, crosses the now thoroughly forested landslide to a pair of mountain lakes at the foot of a dramatic mile-long cliff—the origin of the slide. An extra 2-mile climb takes you through wildflower meadows to a viewpoint atop the cliff itself.

To find the trailhead, drive Interstate 5 …

This chapter taken from the book 100 Hikes in Southern Oregon.