A blue so intense that it seems almost unnatural, and your friends back home will say you’ve used Photoshop to edit your photos. A water so crystal clear that it perfectly reflects all the surrounding environment. A convenient scenic route (Rim Drive) that will gift you unforgettable views of the landscape. All this is Crater Lake: the spectacular lake that was created in a caldera of an extinct volcano in Oregon. It has no tributaries and receives its water only from rainfall and melting snow, so it is clean and has this very intense blue color that makes it unique in the world. It is also the deepest lake in the entire United States.
Visiting it, however, is not so easy, especially if you pass through these parts in any period other than summer, as the heavy snowfall at these latitudes is particularly intense and forces most of the accesses to Crater Lake to close. This park is also renowned for the splendid views of the stars and the Milky Way it offers at night thanks to the lack of any kind of light pollution. Let’s see the best things to do in Crater Lake National Park and some visiting tips.
Contents
Where it is, how to get there, tickets and hours
Crater Lake National Park is located in Oregon. The nearest major city is Medford which is almost two hours away by car. It doesn’t have an actual address, but the southern part of the park can be reached by taking Highway 62.
To access the park you must pay an entrance fee for each car that varies depending on the period when you visit:
- 20$ for the winter months (November to end of April)
- 30$ for the summer months (May through the end of October)
If you have an America the Beautiful parks card, admission is free. The park itself is open every day of the year but, as we mentioned, it is not always accessible due to weather conditions.
Best time to visit Crater Lake National Park
The surface of the lake is located at an altitude of more than 5,900 feet, with the sides of the extinct volcano also reaching 7,900 feet. As you can imagine, snowfalls are very frequent most of the year, except in summer. Temperatures are also quite rigid, only exceeding 20° C in July and August.
For this reason, during the fall and winter months (but also in spring sometimes) some roads to Crater Lake are closed because they are impassable. As you can see from the National Park Service image, almost all roads are closed in winter.
Let’s look in detail at the annual opening periods of the access roads:
- North Entrance Road and West Rim Drive: open in mid-May or late June
- East Rim Drive: opens in mid-June or late July
Highway 62 on the other hand is open all year round and, barring particularly heavy snowfall, allows you to reach Rim Village. From here, on clear days, you can enjoy beautiful views of the lake.
Things to do in Crater Lake in summer
If you have planned your trip to Oregon during the months of July, August and September, you’re in luck, as the scenic roads and Crater Lake trails are fully accessible (bar exceptional events). Below are the best viewpoints during this period for appreciating the national park at its best.
Sinnott Memorial Overlook
One of the best points to observe Crater Lake. It is located just behind the Rim Visitor Center and its position dominates the majestic lake from above. Open daily generally from June through October (depending on weather conditions). Opening hours are as follows:
- 9:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. in July and August
- 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. in June and September
- 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. in October
In addition to admiring the beautiful view, inside you can visit an exhibition that traces the history of the park and explains its formation.
Crater Lake Rim Drive
This is one of the most particular scenic roads of the United States. It skirts the lake and runs along what was once the edge of the volcano. It is about 33 miles long with more than 30 scenic rest areas. It takes at least an hour to drive the entire loop, but as I think you’ll be making lots of stops, allow 2 to 3 hours to complete the tour.
If you want to rest and leave your rental car parked, you can take advantage of a tour in a quaint little bus that usually departs from Rim Village every hour. The ticket costs $36 per person and the tour will last about two hours with stops at at least 5 scenic spots along Rim Drive.
Phantom Ship
A rock formation that emerges from the water and is shaped like a ship about to sail out to sea. To see it at its best you can either take a path that will take you to the top of the Sun Notch Headland, or stop at the Phantom Ship Overlook rest stop on Rim Drive.
Watchman Peak – Watchman Overlook
These two overlooks are the best places to watch the sunset. If you don’t feel like walking you can just admire the lake from the overlook, or if you want to stretch your legs you can climb Watchman Peak where you will find a building that continues to be used by park rangers for fire watching.
If you opt for the hike, allow at least an hour to cover the 1.5-mile round trip, plus the time needed to admire the view and take some photos.
Discovery Point
Besides being one of the best viewing points to observe the Crater Lake, this is also a historical place. It was here, in fact, that gold prospector John Hillman first saw the spectacle of Crater Lake while riding a mule in 1853.
Pumice Castle Overlook
From this vantage point, in addition to Crater Lake, you can admire a peculiar rock formation that juts out from the side of the crater.
It actually owes its name to the shape that resembles that of a medieval castle, and is also notable for its more intense orange color than the area surrounding it.
Mount Scott
We are talking about the highest point of the park (8850 feet) from where you can enjoy a magnificent 360-degree view of the entire surrounding area. Reaching the top of Mount Scott, however, is no easy feat, since it requires a walk of more than 4.5 miles (round trip) with a difference in altitude of almost 1200 feet. If you have the time and the desire to do it, though, you will be fully repaid for your effort by the view opening up before your eyes.
Vidae Falls
This, and indeed the next attraction, are not vantage points to observe the lake from, but small natural curiosities that are still worth visiting. In this case it is a small series of waterfalls that can also be easily seen from the roadside.
Pinnacles Overlook
In order to reach this panoramic point, there is a detour of about 6 miles from Rim Drive. Once there, you’ll see some curious rock formations that some might describe as the monochromatic (and much less numerous) version of those seen at Bryce Canyon. In reality, they were formed following a major eruption when hot ash solidified into this particular shape.
Visiting the park at other times of the year
If your road trip around the North West of the United States has brought you to this area during other months of the year, but you still want to visit Crater Lake, read the sections below for some useful advice.
Crater Lake in winter
As mentioned, Crater Lake is one of the spots where snowfall is most frequent in the entire United States, and it is at this time of year that the surface of the lake is very often completely covered by clouds (on average at least every other day). While at first glance this might seem like a curse for this park, Crater Lake owes its existence to this very phenomenon.
Since it has no tributaries, the lake’s water comes from melting snow and rain, which is why it is also one of the lakes with the cleanest water in the world. We have already said that Highway 62 is open all year round but it only takes you to the Park Headquarters. The additional 3-mile stretch of road that leads to Rim Village, from where you can see Crater Lake, may be closed.
If the roads are clearer, it is possible to ski or walk in snowshoes guided by the rangers along the special trails that you can find detailed in the official park winter guide.
Crater Lake in May and June
If you visit the park during these two months there are some considerations to bear in mind. They are in fact transitional periods between the cold winter climate and the milder summer one. Depending on the rigidity of the winter months, it may not be possible to visit the park in its entirety. For this reason, in order to avoid disappointment (who would expect to find the roads closed due to snow in May?) you should carefully read the following section where you will find all the resources for planning your trip.
Useful Resources
In order to avoid bad surprises the National Park Service has created two useful tools available to those who want to visit the park.
- The Crater Lake Webcams: these are cameras that monitor the weather conditions 24 hours a day and allow you to get an idea of what’s ahead at a glance. Very useful to avoid arriving at Crater Lake and finding the view completely obscured by bad weather. You can find them by clicking here.
- Road conditions: to know whether the roads and the trails of the park are passable or not you can check this page.
Crater Lake boat tours
The answer to this question is yes, but unfortunately there is a catch. All available tours start from a dock that is located at the end of one of the most strenuous trails to hike in the entire park. This is the Cleetwood Cove Trail, nearly 1.2 miles of walking (one way) with an elevation gain of over 600 feet.
However, if you feel fit enough to tackle this walk to the dock, you can choose from three different types of boat tours:
- Standard Tour: 2 hours around the perimeter of the lake. Price 44$ per person
- Wizard Island Tour: 5 hours of which 3 are spent on the island. Price 55$ per person
- Wizard Island Shuttle: 4 hours, 3 of which are spent on the island but not around the lake. Price 28$ per person
Can you swim in Crater Lake?
If the wonderful deep blue color of the water makes you want to take a dip, you should be aware that you can only do so in a few specific places: Cleetwood Cove and Wizard Island (which can be reached only by boat tour). Be aware, however, that the water is very cold even in summer (15° C / 59° Fahrenheit on average in August) and it is forbidden to snorkel, scuba dive, and use wetsuits.
Places to stay near Crater Lake
Where to stay near Crater Lake? If you want to sleep inside the park, a good solution is to stay at the Crater Lake Lodge located literally just a few steps from the Rim Village Visitor Center. It combines the convenience of its location with the beauty of the views from most of the rooms.
If you want to sleep outside of the park the closest towns of a certain size are Medford (1 hour and 50 minutes), Klamath Falls (1 hour and 20 minutes), and Eugene (2 hours and a half to get to the north side).
