Santiam Pass is the broad, forested saddle where US 20 crosses the crest of the Oregon Cascades, at about 4,800 feet, and it has a more complicated personality than the gentle name suggests. On the western side the road climbs from the wet valleys through dark Douglas fir and hemlock, and on the east it drops into dry ponderosa pine and the high desert. The pass is the dividing line between two climates, and you can feel the change in the air within a few miles, from damp and mossy to dry and resinous.
Behind it, mountains stand in a row. Mount Washington, a blunt, eroded volcanic plug, rises beside the road, and the jagged horn of Three Fingered Jack stands to the south, with the snow dome of Mount Jefferson to the north on a clear day. A fire in 2003 burned a large part of the forest near the summit, and the silver snags and thick young growth that followed are a reminder of how dry these slopes can be. A ski area sits near the summit, and in winter the pass is busy with skiers and snowmobilers.
The route has a long history. Wagon roads crossed here in the 1860s, as settlers and freighters searched for ways to link the valleys with the dry country east of the mountains, and one of them, the Santiam Wagon Road, still survives in sections. Today, the highway is a smooth, well-engineered road, with long, easy bends and a steady gradient, much used by trucks, tourists and motorcyclists. Traffic is heavier on summer weekends, and winter brings snow, ice and chain requirements, so check conditions in the colder months. Fog and rain can reduce visibility on the west side, and the east is often bright and windy.
At the pass there is little more than a few turnouts, trailheads and a ski lodge, so services must be found elsewhere. Sisters, about twenty-eight kilometres to the east, has petrol stations, cafés and a pleasant main street in western style, and the towns of the Santiam Canyon to the west also have fuel, so fill the tank before the climb. Bring a layer, as the temperature drops at the summit.
Pull into a trailhead, look at the burnt trees and the mountains behind them, and take a minute to read the forest. It tells you a lot about this country.