Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway Backcountry — Medicine Lake Highlands to Lava Beds

The Medicine Lake Highlands sit on the largest shield volcano in the Cascades, and most people drive straight past it on their way to Crater Lake. That’s their loss. This route punches off Highway 89 north of McCloud and climbs Forest Service roads through glass-black obsidian flows at Glass Mountain, past Burnt Lava Flow, and around the rim of Medicine Lake itself — a caldera lake sitting at 6,700 feet with primitive camping on the shore. The final push drops into Lava Beds National Monument from the north, where you can poke your truck nose right up to cave entrances before pulling camp in the monument’s designated sites.

Roads here are well-graded pumice and gravel with some rougher two-track spurs — a high-clearance 2WD can manage the main loop in dry conditions, but 4WD opens up the side tracks to Glass Mountain’s obsidian fields and the back side of Burnt Lava Flow. Snow closes the highlands from November through May, sometimes into June. No water on the plateau — carry everything. Fuel in Burney or Weed. The payoff: volcanic scenery that feels genuinely alien, near-zero crowds, and a sky so dark out here the Milky Way looks painted on.