As
a national park, Crater Lake is not very large. A drive
of 33 miles will take you around the rim. The only long
trail inside the park is the section of the Pacific Crest
Trail which runs 33 miles from north to south, west of
the lake. Three much shorter trails connect the Pacific
Crest Trail to the rim. However, the size of the park and
the lack of a tall mountain should not deter you from
visiting this remarkable place.
First,
there is the beauty of the lake, an almost round body of
water which partially fills the caldera. It has extreme
clarity, caused by its great depth and the lack of an
outflow. While snowmelt and rainwater fill the lake to a
constant level, only evaporation removes water. It is an
isolated lake in perfect balance; a completely closed
ecosystem.
Mount
Mazama came and went in a very short period of geological
time, less than half a million years. It took much more
time to build the volcano than for it to obliterate
itself, an event of extreme destruction which occurred
7,700 years ago, when ash from the volcano jetted more
than 30 miles into the atmosphere, landing as far away as
Canada. The top mile of the mountain folded into the
core, making the crater, which slowly filled with
rainwater and snow-melt. Since then, Mazama has been
quiet, with only minor volcanic action creating the small
cone of Wizard Island. What remains is a park area of
incredible beauty.
How
to Get There
From
Medford, on Interstate 5, take State Route 62 for 75
miles. After entering the park, the highway leads south
of the lake to the Annie Springs Entrance Station. The
park road then leads north to the park headquarters, Rim
Village and the Rim Drive.
From
the south, and Klamath Falls, take U.S. Highway 97 and
State Route 62 to the park and the Annie Springs Entrance
Station. The park boundary is 55 miles from Klamath
Falls. From the northwest (Interstate 5 at Roseburg) take
State Route 138 for 82 miles, to the park boundary. The
north park road is closed in winter.
Park
Essentials
Headquarters:
P.O. Box 7, Crater Lake OR 97604.
Telephone:
(503) 594-22111
The
Rim Village Visitor Center is located on the rim,
overlooking the lake from the south edge. It is located
seven miles off State Route 62. The center is open daily
from early June to the end of September.
Steel
Center, located at the park headquarters, south of
Rim Village, is open daily throughout the year, except
Christmas Day.
An
entrance fee is charged during the summer season only,
when all facilities are open. However, the park remains
open year-round, via the south entrance.
Park
naturalist activities are offered throughout the summer
season, with a 2-hour narrated boat tour of the lake,
including a stop at Wizard Island, where visitors may
hike to the top of the cone. The tour leaves every hour,
on the hour, from 9 am to 3 pm, from the landing at the
end of the Cleetwood Trail. Cross-country skiing and
snowshoeing are popular winter activities in the south
rim area.
Food
and lodging are available inside the park. Crater Lake
Lodge, a magnificent old hostelry, has been
completely rebuilt and re-opened in 1995. It has
comfortable rooms and dining facilities, open from early
June to mid-September. After having been closed for
almost a dozen years, the lodge was painstakingly
reconstructed in its original form, with modern
conveniences added. Mazama Village Motor Inn has
standard motel-style units adjacent to the Mazama
Campgrounds, on the Rim Drive, with a restaurant. It is
open from mid-May to early October.
The
nearest outside accommodations are available in Klamath
and Chiloquin. Food is also available at the park
Cafeteria, Deli and Fountain, located next to the Rim
Village Gift Shop.
There
are two campgrounds in the park. Mazama Campground
is open from mid-June to mid-September, with sites for
tents, trailers and RVs. The campground, near Annie
Springs Entrance Station, has a store, showers, and
laundry. Lost Creek Campground, with sites for tents
only, is open from early July to late August. It is
accessed by a park road which leads south from Rim Drive,
past the campground, to the Pinnacles.
Park
Features
Crater
Lake is a summer place, and also a winter place. The two
seasons are very different from one another.
Summer
is short. The lake, the deepest in the nation, glows with
a translucent sheen, rimmed by rock with a few evergreen
trees clinging to the slope. The soft green forests and
flowery meadows are in sharp contrast to the rocky walls
of the crater and the bare rock formations which poke
above the rim. Wildflowers blanket the park meadows and
forest floor for most of the summer. They are some of the
600 species of plants which have colonized the region
since the volcano's ash covered the slopes for many miles
around. The forest is primarily mountain hemlock and
Shasta red fir, with stunted and twisted whitebark pine
at the rim. Down from the rim, a more temperate forest of
ponderosa pine and lodgepole pine is found.
Winter
provides a stark, white environment. A year's snowfall on
the rim can be as much as 50 feet, and because of the
moderate Oregon climate, the lake hardly ever freezes
over, using stored heat from its lower depths. The last
time the lake developed a thin sheet of ice was in 1949.
While snow falls in October and doesn't recede until May,
the south park road is kept open for visitors, who come
to look at the lake in this special time of year. Park
rangers open a gate, at 8 a.m. daily, and close it at
sunset. Snowmobilers can enter the park at the north
gate, and drive to a vista point overlooking the
lake.
Rim
Drive
The
road circles the lake, offering more than 25 viewpoints
overlooking the lake and geological formations. Heading
clockwise (west) from the Rim Village parking lot, the
road is often narrow and winds around sharp curves. The
first few miles provide fine views of nearby mountains,
including Hillman Peak, to the far left of the rim, one
of the remaining parts of Mt. Mazama, and the highest
point on the rim.
Wizard
Island Overlook is at mile 4. There is a short trail
south, to a fire tower on "The Watchman." The Mt.
Theissen Overlook provides a fine view, away from the
crater, of other mountains and points of geological
interest. Passing the road to the north entrance, Rim
Drive continues, leading east to Steel Bay (mile
8.8), which commemorates William Gladstone Steel, who
contributed much energy and money to creating the
national park, in 1902. He was also a leader in efforts
to build Crater lake Lodge.
Crestwood
Trail, at mile 10.7, leads down the rim to the
landing for the park's boat tour.
There
is another view of the entire lake at Skell Head,
at mile 14.8. Mt. Scott is the standout here. Another
volcanic cone, it's the highest point in the park.
There's a short spur road to Cloudcap, providing
the park's highest vista point, at 8,070 feet. Phantom
Ship, the unusual island with a fanciful name, is
located to the southwest. The vista point at Kerr
Notch (mile 23.2) provides another view of Phantom
Ship. Take the road to Pinnacles, leading south
from Rim Drive, past the tent campground. The Pinnacles
are spires of volcanic ash, eroded into tall, weird
forms.
Castle
Crest Wildflower Trail is found at mile 31.2. The
Godfrey Glen Trail provides another short walk, off the
connector road to the Annie Springs Entrance
Station. If you continue on Rim Drive, you'll shortly
arrive back at the Rim Village starting point.
Go
to Page 2
for
more park features and where to stay.
