Tuesday, January 10, 2017

What does the road look like at the Summit of Highway 6?

One of our recreation staff got a phone call this week complaining that the road camera at Lees Camp on www.tripcheck.com is not a good representation of the road conditions at the summit of Highway 6.

It's true.  Many times the Lees Camp camera will show bare or wet pavement at milepost 23.5 while there is packed snow and ice at milepost 33 (aka the Summit of Highway 6).  However, there are a couple of ways to get a good idea of what Highway 6 looks like before you head out to the woods.

  • Go to www.tripcheck.com and click the blue dot that appears on Highway 6 at the midway point between Banks and Tillamook.  This is a text pop-up box that lists road conditions and traction device requirements.

  • Go to www.tripcheck.com and click on the Sunset Rest Area camera on Oregon Highway 26. While it is on a different highway corridor, the Sunset Rest area is at about the same elevation as the summit of Highway 6 and can provide a rough picture of the road conditions you might find on the Highway 6 corridor.

And as always, if you head out to play in the snow, go prepared for any emergency and remember - even if the highway is clear, forest roads may not be accessible due to snow and ice.