Travel Dates: September 2022
Hotel:
Eagle Crater Lake Inn – ~30 minutes outside of Crater Lake, this was the best option available for us, compared to other accommodations nearby. It’s like a motel, but I was pleasantly surprised at the cleanliness of the room and how they offered free breakfast. I would definitely recommend this place if you need a place to stay near Crater Lake.
Riverfront Lodging – we picked this hotel due to its halfway point between Crater Lake and Brookings. Per the pictures online, the rooms seemed nice. In reality, if you don’t book the river front view, the room is pretty small and minimal. I would recommend that you drive an extra 30 minutes to Medford and find a hotel there. Medford is a larger city so there are better accommodations and a lot more places to eat. If you are heading towards the coast (Brookings), Medford does add an extra 20 minutes out of the way, but I think it’s well worth it.
Activities:
Crater Lake National Park was formed more than 7,000 years ago from a volcanic eruption of Mount Mazama that collapsed inward. The lake water comes directly from rain and snow, and no sediments or mineral deposits are carried into lake, which helps it maintain its rich blue color and making it one of the cleanest and clearest lakes in the world. And with its depth of almost 2,000 feet, it is the deepest lake in America.
There is an entry fee per vehicle ($30 in the summer season and $20 in the winter season) and the ticket is valid for 7 consecutive days.
We spent 7 hours at Crater Lake and only had time to drive the scenic loop around the lake (Rim Road–33 miles long) and do two hikes. If you want to also do a boat tour, which only operates in the summer and tickets sell out very quickly due to limited seats and tours per day, I recommend you spend two days at Crater Lake and book your tickets in advance. The boat tour is at least 2 hours long (depending which one you book) and requires you to hike on Cleetwood Cove Trail–see following section about the hike for more details and what to prepare.
There are numerous pullout points around the loop. We didn’t stop by all of them, but I would recommend: Merriam Point, The Watchman, Discovery Point (no signage), Phantom Ship Overlook, and Cloudcap Overlook.
Be sure to ask for a map when entering the park; this will be very helpful if your phone GPS gets disconnected and for finding restrooms in the park (not all stops have restrooms, but usually the major ones do).
Watchman Peak Trail is about an hour round trip up the mountain for a great frontal view of Wizard Island (an “island” in the lake which is actually a cinder cone). It starts out on a paved road, but eventually it becomes a dirt road. It’s a bit steep but overall not bad, especially with the view that you are rewarded with at the top. If you don’t want to do the hike, you can still park in this area for an overlook.
Cleetwood Cove Trail is the one and only hike that gets you down to the lake for the boat tours or to swim. It’s a pretty steep hike and takes about 30 – 45 minutes to go down, and about an hour to get back up (though we ran parts of it coming up and got back in 30ish minutes). Make sure you wear good sneakers/hiking boots, bring enough water, and I definitely recommend hiking poles. If you plan to go in the water, water shoes are highly encouraged.
Once you’re at the lake, you’ll first see the boats/dock for check in. Then all along the shore, people are climbing on rocks to get to the lake to swim. Mind you, the water is very cold! But it’s fun to just dip your feet in and see how clear and beautiful the lake is up close.
The water is shallow but gradually gets deeper, and there are rocks everywhere. Up to a certain distance, there is a steep drop off–this is where the water turns from lighter blue to deep blue. You are not allowed to bring snorkel gear or flotation devices, and they will only allow you to swim up to the buoy (since past that point is where it becomes very deep).
One other thing to mention is that the parking lot for the trail has a decent amount of spaces but it’s generally packed. We had to wait 30 minutes to find parking, so if you do need to catch a boat tour, make sure to get there at least an hour and a half earlier in order to have enough time to park, use the bathroom (the parking lot has two park restrooms, otherwise there is nothing down at the lake), and then hike down.
Globe Trotter 