Near Pilot Rock, the trail comes to within two miles of the California border before extending further west to its southern terminus at Siskiyou Summit. The low point of the trail is at Bridge of the Gods (elevation 220 ft), and the high point of the trail is on a saddle north of Mount Thielsen (elevation 7560 ft). Altogether, there is 62840 ft of elevation gain and 58780 ft of elevation loss on a north-to-south trip.

Many stretches of the Oregon Skyline Trail have been rerouted since its inception