There is something wonderfully Oregon about finding an old covered bridge where you least expect one.
Drive east from Eugene and Springfield on Highway 58, following the road toward the forested foothills of the Cascades, and the scenery gradually loosens its grip on the city. The subdivisions thin out, fir-covered hills begin closing in, and before long the highway reaches the broad water of Dexter Reservoir. Sitting along the shoreline near the small community of Lowell is a white wooden structure that looks as though it belongs on an old postcard.
The Lowell Covered Bridge is difficult to miss once you know where to look. Its long white walls stretch over the green-blue water, with tall openings along the sides and a dark entrance framed beneath the pitched roof. On a quiet day, especially when the lake is still, the whole structure can reflect beautifully across the surface.
It would be easy to pull over, take a few pictures, admire one of Oregon’s surviving covered bridges and continue toward Oakridge without giving it much more thought…