Illinois Valley Overview
At the heart of picturesque and mostly rural Illinois Valley is Cave Junction, a city in
motion. Approximately 300 new homes are planned, in process or already built, in-
cluding gated neighborhoods. Also on the drawing board is expansion of Laurel
Pines/Illinois Valley Golf Course with residences and commercial sites, plus other
business developments in city limits. And Siskiyou Community Health Center with
Three Rivers Community Hospital is erecting a new clinic.
Some 15,000 persons call Illinois Valley home. Approximately 1,500 of them live in
the “CJ” city limits with the rest scattered throughout the valley’s unincorporated
communities of O’Brien, Takilma, Holland, Kerby, Dryden and Selma. The valley
lies between Interstate 5 and Hwy. 101, and is bisected by Hwy. 199 (the Redwood
Hwy.) It’s a peaceful locale, and the population has a wide age range.
Besides Illinois River, which provides opportunities for rafting and swimming, valley
features include Oregon Caves National Monument and the historic Chateau, the golf
course, the Kalmiopsis Wilderness out Eight Dollar Road, Lake Selmac, Kerbyville
Museum History Center, and Rough & Ready Botanical Wayside. Additionally,
McCaleb Ranch Boy Scout Camp out the remote and starkly beautiful Illinois River
Road area, Illinois Valley Airport, Page Mountain Snow Park, and Cave Junction
Swimming Pool.
A major Nature-based facility, the Deer Creek Field Station & Education Center, is to
be developed by CJ-based Siskiyou Forest Institute with Southern Oregon University
at Ashland. The 870-acre site is located off Illinois River Road in Selma. Nearby, the
Selma Community & Education Center is in operation, and development continues.
Illinois Valley, so named because the first white men who “discovered” it felt that it
resembled their native state, is home to an active arts community. Two principal or-
ganizations are Illinois Valley Fine Artists Inc., and Illinois River Valley Arts Coun-
cil. The fine artists can be contacted via 592-5296 or 592-3949. The arts council has a
Website: illinois-river-valley-arts-council.com
Numerous special annual events are held. They include Second Friday Art Walk,
Summer Concerts in the Park, Illinois Valley Lions Club Labor Day Festival & Pa-
rade, Siskiyou Bluegrass Festival, Wild Blackberry Arts & Crafts Festival, Cave
Junction Lions Club Car Show, the July 4 weekend Reunionmania for alumni of I.V.
High School and the former Kerby Union High School, Community Christmas Tree
Lighting Ceremony, The Shining Stars Community Picnic, I.V. Lions Easter Egg
Hunt, Siskiyou Community Health Center Kids Fair, and various other events.
A specific schedule is available from the I.V. Chamber of Commerce office in the
Visitor Information Center on Caves Hwy. (Hwy. 46), a short distance from Oregon
Caves Chevron. The chamber Website is cavejunctionoregon.com. Also, the weekly
(Wednesdays) community newspaper, “Illinois Valley News,” carries stories about
coming events and special activities. The Website is Illinois-valley-news.com
Illinois Valley contains many trails for hiking and biking, as well as horseback riding,
plus there are numerous camping areas. Information can be obtained from the visitor
center or the U.S. Forest Service office in CJ, across from Oregon Caves Chevron.
The valley provides a good range of merchants offering merchandise and services.
Many of them advertise in the “Illinois Valley News.” There are real estate offices,
medical offices, banks, wineries, restaurants, motels, art galleries, grocers, service
stations, bed-and-breakfast accommodations, veterinarians, and a variety of specialty
operations including Great Cats World Park, and It’s A Burl, and Kauffman Wood
Products, both in Kerby.
Whether you’re looking for a day’s outing, a weeklong stay, or a place to live — Illi-
nois Valley has it all.
Out’n’About
Adventures