Welcome to Southwest Oregon
Picturesque Lake Selmac
Remarkable. Exceptional. And lovely.
Those are among words used to describe “The Beautiful Illinois Valley” -- situated in Southwestern Oregon -- and dotted with waterways, woods, unique vegetation and geological features.
Rarities include the carnivorous Darlingtonia californica, and the Kalmiopsis lechiana, a flowering shrub that survived the Ice Age, and which is found only in the rugged Kalmiopsis Wilderness.
Plus there is a surprising number of unusual enterprises and businesses dealing in a wide range of high-quality arts and crafts. As well, the valley has a good selection of commercial efforts offering groceries, gasoline, meals, and numerous other products and services.
Illinois Valley contains approximately 15,000 residents from the O’Brien area at the California border to the Hay’s Hill area to the north of Selma. Other I.V. areas are Takilma, Holland Loop, the city of Cave Junction, Kerby and Dryden.
Among principal features of the scenic locale:
Oregon Caves National Monument, Bridgeview Vineyards & Winery, Foris Vineyards Winery, the Wild & Scenic Illinois River, the Kalmiopsis Wilderness, the historic Chateau at Oregon Caves, Lake Selmac, the Deer Creek Field Station & Education Center, Illinois Valley Golf Course, Kerbyville Museum, Rough & Ready Botanical Wayside, Eight Dollar Mountain Botanical Area, Jubilee Park, Illinois River “Forks” State Park, Page Mountain Snow Park, and Illinois Valley Airport and former Siskiyou Smokejumper Base.
Besides several businesses in the valley offering a diverse assortment of artistic items, a display-and-support site in Kerby is run by Illinois River Valley Arts Council. The other major such group is Illinois Valley Fire Artists Inc.
Numerous events, many of them during summer, are held annually. They include the Concerts in the Park series, staged by Illinois Valley Chamber of Commerce and its sponsors, Second Friday Art Walk, Siskiyou Bluegrass Festival, Wild Blackberry Festival, I.V. Lions Club Labor Day Festival & Parade, Cave Junction Lions Club Classic Car Show, Reunionmania for alumni of I.V. High School and Kerby Union High School, and The I.V. Chamber Website -- a joint effort of the chamber, CaveNet -- and Oregon Mt. Real Estate, can be found at cavejunctionoregon.com
For a current accounting of events in and around the valley, purchase a copy of the weekly “Illinois Valley News” available at many businesses and at the newspaper office. It’s in the building across Redwood Hwy. from Pizza Pit and behind Earth Friendly Kids. The “I.V. News” Website can be found at illinois-valley-news.com.
Information about events, attractions and facilities also can be obtained from the chamber of commerce and I.V. Community Development Organization in the I.V. Visitor Center; and from the U.S. Forest Service office in Cave Junction.
Although the picturesque and mostly rural Illinois Valley seems motionless to some, there actually is an undercurrent of development. Not only are new businesses opening, but a new Siskiyou Community Health Center is open in cooperation with Three Rivers Community Hospital, which is in Grants Pass.
Additionally, the I.V. Golf Course will be expanded to 18 holes soon, and there will be a golf course residential development, plus a commercial site. And at least two major businesses plan to open in Cave Junction.
New housing, with the possibility of an assisted-living type facility, also is under way. Overall, some 300 new homes are either already built or projected.
Whether one is looking for camping, scenery, wine-tasting, arts-and-crafts experiences, hiking, horseback riding, swimming, fishing, and rafting and boating, Illinois Valley has it all.
