Created as the 6th National Park in America, once a religious site for native Americans, and the deepest lake in North America at just under 2000 feet; Crater Lake is Oregon’s only national park and 100% worth a visit!
I’ll be the first to admit, if it’s a national park it’s on my bucket list. Not everyone would prefer to spend their adventures in the great outdoors, but Crater Lake is one of those parks that allows visitors to choose their own adventure. One can opt to drive the 33 mile rim loop and stop at various points along the way and take in the wonder that is this sapphire gem. Or they can choose to do a deep dive, literally. Cleetwood cove is the only spot on the lake you can hike down to the water and take a 35 foot plunge from a cliff. The average water temperature is 60 degrees during the summer and there are changing rooms located at the bottom of the trail, but no restrooms. This hike is not for the faint of heart. Going down a maintained dirt trail with several benches for rest is fine, a little steep, but manageable. Hiking back up the 700 feet of elevation gain over the course of 1.1 miles does take a little more effort. Especially if you’re not from somewhere with a higher altitude as it sits around 7000’. But the views at the bottom whether you opt to try your hand at cliff diving or simply dip your feet in are worth the effort. The water is a mesmerizing, clear blue.
There are no rivers that feed into this lake, all the water is created by snow melt or rain making it one of the cleanest bodies of natural water. I’ve heard stories you can drink straight from it, but I’d still prefer not to test that theory. Typically, they offer boat tours to wizard island during the summer but during Covid they have been halted. Cleetwood cove is the location to take those tours, but on the bright side it means a completely empty lake save for the visitors hanging out on the edge of the cove.
I started on the north entrance and made a left a few miles to the cove, did that hike, then proceeded to keep driving and continually hopping out of my car along the way. There is something absolutely mesmerizing about this crater turned lake.
The lake measures 6 miles by roughly 4 miles and you have a hard time taking it all in. My suggestion is to arrive early because in the summer the smoke from wildfires tends to move in by late afternoon and in winter the storm clouds roll in and they both tend to obscure views. As you can see in the photo taken a few hours later when I’d made it to the visitors center, you couldn’t even see the lake.
As I was saying earlier; you can also choose to get dirty and put some effort into visiting all the nooks and crannies surrounding this lake. There are numerous trails labeled as easy , moderate or strenuous and each of them offers something new. If you can spend a night or two here it makes it much easier to explore before the inevitable lack of visibility takes it’s toll. On the first night I accepted I might not see much, but still waited for sunset. I spent my first night in a cabin. The matanzas campground has quite a few RV & tent spaces as well as several quad formation style cabins. All of the cabins have been renovated. They feature two Queen beds, a separate bathroom area with shower, a keurig coffee maker, and a bistro style table and chairs, as well as heat (no AC or fan). They have been upgraded with USB charging stations as well as your typical outlets. I found them to be fairly spacious and private. At around $170 a night I think they’re a better deal for the money than the lodge. There is a restaurant located at the campground that serves pizza, burgers, wraps and soup. The menu is fairly limited and it’s not cheap but it does fill the void. I brought some bananas and oatmeal cups with me and used the hot water from the keurig for breakfast. I ordered the vegetable pizza for dinner. It was ok. The crust was over cooked and hard, the dough too much and the veggies were chopped so small you could hardly taste them and the base was pesto. I’m picky about pizza and maybe if I’d have just had a pepperoni it would’ve been better. The dining area is one of those order up front and they bring it to you type of deals and the staff are friendly and the fireplace is a welcomed feature. By nightfall the temps get pretty chilly even in August. My luggage unpacked, my belly full and with enough time to explore I headed out to watchman tower to see the sunset. Undeterred by the smoke I found two trails, the rim trail was fun and difficult. A lot of deep soft sand, steep up hills and rocks to scramble. Not for the faint of heart.
After spending about 45 minutes here I only had about 20 to get to the top of the watchman trail located to the opposite side of the same parking lot. This trail is much, much easier. It’s rated as moderate due to some incline but it’s well maintained and if you take more time than I did, it’s a lovely hike. I managed to sprint the just shy of 1 mile trail in 15 minutes. I was rewarded with a beautiful view of a smoky sunset that appeared to dip below the edge of the world.
The wind around the rim is intense. Even standing a few feet back reduces the breeze allowing you to warm but once the sun sets it gets chilly fast. It was a very easy walk back to my car and about a 7 mile drive to the campground. I changed and snuggled into my bed. I woke in time to throw on some clothes and drive out to discovery point for a beautiful view of the sun rising over the lake.
I have heard that Cloudcap point is a stellar spot for sunrise but it was a 30 min drive from the campground on a road that has a steep drop off and broken pavement and I wasn’t feeling like dealing with that in the dark. Besides, I think I had a wonderful view all the same.
It was still early and I wanted to see Pinnacle point before the construction work closed the road for the majority of the day so I drove that potholed, crooked road in daylight and took a 6 mile spur road to the end for a very easy short hike to see the pumice stone jagged formations.
I got the middle of road shot I’ve never felt safe doing, but always wanted. This was the very end of a dead end road at 6am without a single person out on the road.
Afterwards I was able to stop at Vidae falls on my way back to the cabin. I was underwhelmed. Very little water was trickling at this point of summer. When I got back to the cabin I showered, packed and ate. Then I left my key card behind as instructed and set out for a day of hiking. First on the list was Garfield peak trail before the sun got too hot. This is labeled as strenuous and begins to the far side of the lodge. It is a 3.6 mile round trip with 1000’ of gain in the first 1.8 miles. It reaches over 8000’ elevation making the strong effort to climb even stronger. At some points it does get a little more technical with a bunch of rocks littered on the ground. There are so many great places to enjoy the view it’s easy to rest along the way.
I was rewarded with some of the most amazing views for my journey. The top offers a 180 degree view of nearly the entirety of the lake.
I started in sweats and was ready to strip to a tank by the time I got back to the car. I enjoyed taking photos, enjoying my hard fought view and rested for a bit.
Back at the lodge I basked in the sunlight and pointed the way to this hike. From the lodge it’s not marked, it’s not until you’re almost on the trail that you see the marker. Most of the trails were labeled this same way.
After being disappointed by one fall I was reticent to take the time to hike the 2 mile roundtrip to Plaikni falls. This is an old growth forest with a waterfall ending. Turns out I needn’t have worried. I enjoyed the hike. I was the easiest so far (except pinnacle) through massive trees.
One behemoth fell across the path and a detour was created to go around it, but I couldn’t resist jumping in for a picture with this mighty tree.
Pushing on, the road elevates a small amount and then you begin to hear water. This flowing waterfall is impressive. Created by snow melt it still runs full and cold in the middle of summer. I relished taking off my shoes and dipping my toes in the pool of water near the bottom.
Next up was sun notch trail. Every spot worth stopping has ample parking even at the height of tourist season. One thing I definitely appreciate. There was never a point I couldn’t park at any of the sights. Sun notch was the same. This is a short easy loop that leads to views of the phantom ship formation.
I especially loved how the still, glasslike lake cast a reflection of the stone formations around and within itself.
Following along the road back towards the campground I picked one last trail I hadn’t had time for before leaving in the morning. The Annie creek canyon trail is a roughly 2 mile loop that winds its way through a forest and down into a canyon with pumice formations and a crystal clear stream surrounded by lush grasses.
This trail begins at the amphitheater in the back of loop D & E in the campground. There ain’t much parking but it’s not too far from the huge camp store parking lot. If you follow it all the way around make sure to go the same direction you left because it doesn’t end at the same place it begins. I added some bonus miles in that didn’t need to be there.
Finally I arrived to the lodge for one overnight. I always look forward to staying in these 1920s era buildings. This one had rooms that were straight 1940s decor. From the hexagonal bathroom tiles to the mini flower print wallpaper. It was as if I’d been transported in time. These rooms are very small, they do come with a fan and a bathtub which is nice after a day of hiking. They don’t use electronic keys so you do have to check out when you leave. They have a keurig and a desk with a chair in the room, but also provide complimentary coffee at the front desk. For $100 more a night I didn’t feel it was worth the splurge for any reason except I would’ve been left wondering what these rooms would look like. Next time I’ll camp or get a cabin. Dinner is one of three buffet choice. During Covid no part of the lodge is accessible to anyone other than registered guests.I day nights dinner was bbq. Coming from the south I was preparing for disappointment. At $48 per person that doesn’t include more than coffee, tea or water for a drink and a buffet service that included standing in a long line I was partially correct. Dinner, however was pretty good and the waitstaff, again, so friendly. The brisket was a little over cooked but tasty, the soup yummy, the salmon was my favorite, bbq chicken thighs turn my stomach so didn’t really get into that. They did include some things like tofu apple white cheddar grits. I was hoping for better but it had a mushy peas consistency and the flavor was odd. I’ll say it… grits are better in the south. The item that tied with the salmon was their white cheddar mac n cheese. They even have chicken tenders and fries for children. The roll served with dinner was cold and dry. I was so sad because o love a good dinner roll and even soup didn’t make it edible. Dessert was a choice of Marion every cheesecake, cobbler or a chocolate cake. Given the experience with the dry roll I wasn’t taking a chance on a dry cake and opted for the marionberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream. It was tasty but again, not a typical cobbler I’d expect from the south. Overall I definitely didn’t feel like this was a good value for the price. In general, food was mediocre if plentiful. It was, however, the only option available at the lodge. Bring your money to dinner too because they do not offer room charges despite putting a hold fee on the card you check in the room using. The bar is open until 9pm and dinner is offered by reservations only when checking in from 5-8pm. Thursday through Monday they have a $18 breakfast buffet that I suspect is done in the same manner as dinner and the rest of the week are grab and go options. I was glad I’d brought my own breakfast. Leaving the park, there are two options. The north gate, or the South Gate. This time I left via the South Gate and passed numerous state park campgrounds. In this area I took a detour to upper rouge river natural bridge and used the restroom facilities and walked to the bridge. It was a paved walk I was able to complete on easily in sandals. I passed a woodpecker hunting for breakfast and heard the fish of water before I saw it.
This detour took me all of 5 min off of the main road and was stunning. It was so much better than I anticipated. From bunking white waters to a cave to the hauntingly beautiful trees. This is a campground area as well and probably the one I’d choose to return to as it’s only an hour outside of the main visitors center.
All in all this one is a must see. It’s much less busy than many national parks with a great amount of fun to fill a couple of days. Like most parks it is remote so come prepared and enjoy life outdoors!
Eating Around 