Crater Lake National Park

A mere 7,700 years ago Mount Mazama exploded. An eruption 40 times that of the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption caused the mountain to collapse into itself creating a 2,100-foot caldera. Over the next 250 years magnificence emerged from the disaster, as Crater Lake was born.

Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States at 1,943 feet. It sits within this caldera surrounded by the crater rim at just under 6,200 feet above sea level and is the cleanest large body of water in the world. There are no rivers or streams feeding into or out of the lake, it gets its water source solely from snow melt (44 feet per year) and rain. In fact, the precipitation rate is much greater than the evaporation rate, which leads to one of the many mysteries of the lake. How does it maintain a constant level and not overflow? It has been determined that water seeps from the lake, but no one knows exactly where that water goes. Due to the clarity and depth of the lake, it casts a beautiful blue color, Crater Lake blue as they call it.

We were planning to set up base camp at Diamond Lake just north of the park, but forest fires and subsequent evacuations forced us to move south to the town of Klamath Falls. It was a little further drive to the park, but we were thankful that the fires didn’t affect us more, or the park itself. We did, however, have the residual effects of smoke in the area, some days worse than others. But we found that it takes a lot more than a little smoke to steal the beauty away from this place. Besides, Klamath Falls is a nice little town with a great Saturday farmers market in which we contributed well to the local economy. The Klamath Falls RV Resort was a very nice park to call home for ten days.

It was unseasonably warm during our visit so we kept our hikes to early morning and sunset. One thing we learned is that the magnificent colors of the lake are at their best when the sun is higher in the sky. That said, the golden hours provide a more mystical experience. Either way, the incredible beauty and magnificence of standing on a craters edge and marveling at this lake, born within a crater, is something special.

Crater Lake is someplace where everyone from hard core hikers to Sunday driving sightseers can enjoy. There is a loop road that rounds the lake with many pullouts to enjoy the view, although a section of the east rim was closed for construction during our visit. Rim Village is the main congregating point with a cafe, gift shop, small visitors center and a hundred-year-old lodge. The main visitors center (Steel) is just down the road and has a great 20-minute film about the park that I highly recommend.

We only spent parts of three days in the park and were able to do and see everything we wanted. It doesn’t take long to experience the park, but once you arrive, you just might not want to leave. Nonetheless, here’s our top list of things we loved at Crater Lake:

Drive Around the Lake

Rim Drive is a 33-mile road that encircles the lake with 30 scenic pullouts that are all worth stopping at. On this drive you are able to see the lake from all directions and experience its unique beauty. Our favorite stops along the way include:

Watchman Overlook

There is a large viewing area for this iconic stop along the Rim Drive. Here you are closest to Wizard Island, a cinder cone that erupted out of Crater Lake approximately 7,300 years ago.

Skell Head

On the far east side of the lake is this amazing viewpoint, which gives a much different perspective of the lake. One of the things I liked about this viewpoint in particular is that it seemed that you could see the entirety of the lake easier from here.

Phantom Ship Overlook

A feature that escapes many visitors is the Phantom Ship, an island formed 400,000 years ago that resembles a sailboat. Although it looks small within its surroundings, the island is actually as tall as a 16-story building.

Vidae Falls

This quick stop along the road features a cascading waterfall that seems to disappear into the ground as it descends. We consider it a punishable offense to not stop at a waterfall along the road, so put this on your must do list – or else.

If the road on the east side of the park is open when you visit, I understand that Cloudcap Overlook and Pumice Castle Overlook are highlights of this area. Cloudcap sits at the highest paved road in Oregon and Pumice Castle features a layer of orange pumice rock that resembles a medieval castle.

Check Out the Pinnacles

A 6-mile detour off of Rim Drive gets you to a very unique area of the park, where 100-foot-tall colorful spires are being eroded from the canyon walls. The pinnacles, referred to as fossil fumaroles, formed during the cooling of ash deposits from the eruption that birthed Crater Lake. You can simply view the pinnacles from an overlook or venture down a short trail.

Take a Hike

As with all national parks, there are so many great hiking opportunities for all levels. It was quite warm during our visit so we kept the hikes to shorter ones. I wanted to hike the Mount Scott Trail to the highest peak in the park at 9,000 feet but this trail was closed so I’ll have to catch it on a return trip. However, we did some amazing hikes, including:

Discovery Point

If you only do one hike at Crater Lake, this is it. It’s an easy 2-mile hike that goes along the edge of the crater from Rim Village to the Discovery Point Overlook. There are so many epic vantage points along the way and even a couple of deer sightings on our early morning hike.

Sun Notch

Yes, you can certainly see Phantom Ship from the overlook but this trail, less than a mile, is a great little stroll and gives you a couple of other great views of the island.

Plaikni Falls

On the road to Pinnacles Overlook is this great 2-mile trail to a gorgeous waterfall. Yeah, we’re suckers for a nice waterfall, so this was a nice little hike for something different in the park.

Watchman Peak

It’s less that 2 miles but it’s straight up hill to this old fire lookout atop the mountain. The views from the top are incredible with practically a 360-degree view. I did this hike at sunset and it was magical. As the sun sets it shadows Wizard Island and illuminates the far shoreline. To the west the sun set through a thick layer of smoke from the area fires which actually looked like fog at that level.

Hang Out at Rim Village

Rim Village is the main congregation point of the park and for good reason. You can find a gift shop, cafe, restrooms and lots of parking. At the far end of the village is the historic lodge with a restaurant and bar built in 1915. It’s a beautiful building and stands strong to its heritage. You won’t find any air conditioning in this lodge but the views make up for it. The lodge sits right on the edge of Crater Lake where you can sit on the outside porch and marvel at the views or get a window seat in the restaurant where you can enjoy a mediocre overpriced meal.

There is a boardwalk along the entire Rim Village that you can walk and enjoy the views of Crater Lake. In particular the Sinnott Overlook and Memorial is a must see. The Sinnott Memorial is an impressive stone structure built 50 feet below the caldera rim into a steep rock outcrop called Victor Rock. It’s an amazing spot!

One thing to be aware of when visiting Crater Lake is that it’s in a pretty remote area. Gas up your vehicle before you head out and it’s a good idea to take food and drinks with you. Conveniences along the way are far and few between. In fact, lodging and camping in the area is pretty rustic and limited as well. One exception to this is in Union Creek, west of the park off of Highway 62 where you will find Beckie’s Cafe and the Union Creek Resort. They have both been around for 100 years greeting travelers passing through the area. Beckie’s is an amazing little diner with great burgers and amazing pies (need I say more). The “resort” is small and rustic but appeared much nicer than anything else we saw in the surrounding areas.

Yes, amazing things grow from disaster and there is no better indication of this then Crater Lake. A perfect combination of occurrences created this spectacle of unreal beauty. Everyone should visit this national park at least once in there life, it is truly a unique experience.

Be sure to check out the rest of our pictures from Crater Lake.