Topsy Grade Road
The Klamath River Canyon as seen from Topsy Grade Road (Image: Brian Gailey)
Topsy Grade Road runs on BLM lands; with the northernmost point at Oregon Highway 66 and the Klamath River (JC Boyle Reservoir). From there the road heads south along the eastern side of the Klamath River Canyon before dipping inside the canyon about 9 miles in.
On Sunday (11/29/2020) we traveled down Topsy Grade Road before connecting to Dorris Road to head into Dorris California.
Weather conditions were sunny but cold, temps in the mid to low 30’s; dropping into the 20’s after the sun set.
Road Conditions
The first few miles were pleasant, with the usual washboard sections and potholes. The road was mostly gravel and paved in a few places and had a small amount of snow along the highest points. Near the 4.5 mile mark the road became mostly dirt with a top layer of surface mud a few inches thick. But the mud froze up after mile 10.
Sunset from approximately the 6 mile mark of Topsy Grade Road
At approximately the 8.5 mile mark the road became a chunky rocky washout as the road wined down into a creek bed adjacent to a marshy area. Shortly thereafter, the road splits - one side heads southwest down into the canyon the other southeast toward Dorris, California. The roads from here were frozen mud, snow, and a bit of gravel before hitting tarmac closer to town.
My Thoughts
I believe the drive is a great one to take for an afternoon escape. The road is decent but a 4x4 or 2wd high clearance vehicle would be necessary for the potholes and chunky rocks. I would not recommend this road for cars, sedans, or coupes.
However, I do not believe 4x4 would be a requirement on a dry summer day, but with mud or snow covered conditions like we experienced, 4x4 is a great help.
There were several potential campsites along this route where a vehicle could pull off for the evening. Many even had rock fire rings and views into the canyon too.
This is a good entry level route. I would recommend this track for anyone looking to get started overlanding, anyone just looking for a leisurely excursion, or for a public lands dry campsite to get away.
