Cascade Summit is an unincorporated community in Klamath County, Oregon, United States.[1] It is located on the west shore of Odell Lake near Shelter Cove; about 30 miles southeast of Oakridge.[2]
Cascade Summit is a station of the Southern Pacific Railroad's (SP) Cascade Line established when the line was completed in 1925–1926.[3] The station was named because it is just east of the summit tunnel through the Cascades. Cascade Summit post office was established in 1927 and closed in 1980.[3] The railroad line is now owned by Union Pacific.
Cascade Summit is the highest point on the railroad's crossing of the Cascades at an elevation of .[1] It was a famous location for publicity photos in SP days. At Cascade Summit there was a station, siding, and a wye. During the 1930s to 1940s, passenger trains stopped at the station daily. Today only the siding remains. At one time the locale was the site of Cascade Summit Lodge; it later burned down, but as of 1990 the foundation was still visible.[4]
This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Cascade Summit has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.[5]