Boundary Springs

Boundary Springs is a mossy hillside spring near Crater Lake’s northwest edge, where the Rogue River begins. It’s a moderate, roughly five-mile round trip from Highway 230, with about 400 feet of gain. Keep it in your day if you want to see where the river starts; this is a destination hike, not a quick roadside stop.

Start at the Highway 230 pullout near milepost 19, about five miles west of Highway 138. Follow the Upper Rogue River Trail for roughly half a mile, then turn toward the spring. The route crosses into the park and drops through a narrow canyon before meeting the river again. The Forest Service does not consider it a barrier-free trail, and there’s no potable water at the trailhead.

The spring emerges from the side of a ridge at about 5,060 feet, with a short waterfall just below it. The water is snowmelt, not water leaking from Crater Lake. From here, the Rogue runs about 215 miles to the Pacific, and roughly the first 40 miles of the Upper Rogue are designated Wild and Scenic.

Mount Mazama’s eruption covered the Rogue’s earlier headwaters with pumice. The river later cut a roughly 100-foot canyon through it. The 2015 fire left silver snags along the approach, with young lodgepole pine and Shasta red fir growing back; woodpeckers and seasonal wildflowers are among the reasons to look around as you walk.

The spring’s mossy slope is sensitive habitat, so stay off the moss; camping is not allowed at the spring. For a photo, include the water at its source with the mossy hillside behind it, without stepping off the trail. Snow can linger into early summer even when Highway 230 is open, and the Forest Service lists June through October as the trail season.