Oregon Hikers

Is Larch Mtn Road consistently plowed and ice-free up to the snow gate throughout the winter? I know the whole reason for the snow gate is so that they don't have to plow beyond that, but that's not quite the same thing as committing to keep it accessible to a light compact car with no snow tires.

Nope. If the snow line is lower than the gate, then there will be snow on the road. I had to give up before reaching the gate once last winter when the snow got too deep and I had to reverse back down the road to a point where I could turn around.

It's usually plowed to about MP 6, where the last residents live along the road - 4 miles down from the snow gate.

Although I'm usually a coward when it comes to snow driving, one night just for fun I decided to drive up the road until I got stuck or hit the gate, whichever came first. Passed an abandoned Civic right in the road. I guess he had the same idea. I never made it to the gate. Good times.

While not plowed past the last house around milepost 6 the relatively low elevation means the gate is accessible most of the winter. Intermittently blocked when the snow level drops.

We were there on Sunday and some 4WD goons have again opened up a gate drive around and are driving the whole way.