Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
Simply Stunning Natural Wonder!
Crater Lake National Park in Oregon Tourist Attraction is known for its stunning deep-blue waters and expansive landscapes. The lake, and the surrounding crater, were formed nearly 8,000 years ago when Mount Mazama volcano erupted and then collapsed inwards on itself.
Make sure to check out our video further down in the article of this beautiful lake.
Now, the lake that formed is surrounded by rugged cliffs and it’s an amazing place to visit. We had the pleasure of stopping at Crater Lake National Park in July 2023 on our way home from our two-week road trip from Vancouver, British Columbia down the Oregon and California Coasts. We stopped in Los Angeles where we dropped off our 21-year-old daughter who was there to visit friends and go to a convention and we went on to the Greater Palm Springs area to stay in La Quinta for four nights.
Check out our other travel articles including:
- Things to Do in Oregon With Kids
- 10 Kid-Friendly Places to Visit in Northern California
- 10 Things to do in Washington State with Kids
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- Wayaway.com get 10% off membership with code TP-PoweredbyMom
- Rentalcars.com
My family and I.On our way back home we took a different route inland as it would be quicker as we couldn’t be as leisurely going back home as we were at the beginning of our trip. Our road trip was planned almost a year in advance because I’m a planner when it comes to travel. Crater Lake was a later addition to our itinerary four months before we left on our trip. It’s nothing short of stunning, a photographer’s dream as you can see from my photos. My husband was the first one to step out of our car and all I heard was wow. He’s a guy not that easily impressed by just a view so when I heard him go “wow” I knew it must be something special.
I couldn’t stop taking photos from different viewpoints to just standing there in awe of the brilliant blues and glass-like surface of the lake. I’ve never seen a body of water that was such a bright blue, there was no bad viewpoint of this natural wonder.
If you’re interested in visiting Crater Lake National Park, here are more details to help you plan your visit and tips from our trip.
The Best Things to do in Crater Lake National Park
When you arrive at the park you will need to pay an entry fee of $30 per car. If you have a National Park Service annual pass this will also allow you entry with no additional cost. There is often a line-up of cars waiting to enter the park, so whatever you plan on doing, give yourself ample time just in case it’s busy.
Go Hiking
There are at least 90 miles of trails spread throughout the park. If you want a fairly easy hike, check out Discovery Point Trail. This trail is just over two miles out and back (around 3.4 km). It should take around one hour to complete and is a fairly busy route. If you want something more challenging, there is a part of the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) which passes by the western shore of the lake.
Make sure to PIN our Crater Lake National Park Article
Rim Drive Crater Lake
The Rim Drive Crater Lake is one of the best things to do in the park. The drive is 33 miles (53 kms) long and brings you around the perimeter of the lake. There are 30 different viewpoints to stop at along the way. The drive has amazing scenery the entire way. It should take you around two hours to make the loop, keeping in mind that the speed limit is low and people are pulling in and out of parking lots the entire way — but you wouldn’t want to be zooming past these beautiful views.
There’s also a stop along Rim Drive where you can pull over and see Vidae Falls a spring-fed waterfall spilling down over 100 feet of forested ridge. We managed to stop there and take a few photos like the ones above and below.
Take a Boat Tour
For a change of perspective, a boat tour on the lake is a great option. On a boat tour you can get off for a while and explore Wizard Island in the middle of the lake. This island is the remnants of the tip, or cone, of the volcano. The only way around Wizard Island by land is to hike.
Where is Crater Lake National Park
Crater Lake National Park is located in southwest Oregon. Klamath Falls, Medford, and Ashland are all nearby cities where you can base yourself for the day trip out to the park. We stayed in Medford on our trip which is about a 60 – 90 minute drive (around 65 miles/105 km).
Check out our quick video of this stunning lake.
Best Times to Visit Crater Lake National Park
The best time to visit Crater Lake is during the summer months. We visited in July and it was sunny and about 20 degrees C (high 60s F). There was still snow on the ground, even in the middle of summer (see our photo below), but the sun was warm. So while it wasn’t super hot, it also wasn’t freezing. While the park itself is open year-round, you should always check what trails and roads are open as many of them are closed in the off-season due to weather.
Things to Know about Crater Lake National Park
- Look out for the cute ground squirrels who are running around, they are very friendly and will come right up to you!
- This is the snowiest lake in the United States, if you come in winter, be prepared!
- Crater Lake is the clearest and cleanest large body of water in the world! Respect nature and don’t leave garbage behind.
- There is a gas station in the park at the Mazama Village Store. The pumps are only open during the summer months.
- On leash pets are allowed in the camping and picnic areas and on some of the trails.
- The National Park Services app is a really useful tool for visiting Crater Lake. It has up to date info as well as maps including trails and open roads.
There’s another lovely lake on the way to Crater Lake National Park and it’s called Upper Klamath Lake. There were a lot of people on this lake fishing, out on their rowboats and kayaks. It’s a beautiful spot.
Upper Klamath Lake is almost 30 miles long and eight miles wide and has depths of up to 60 feet. This lake is the largest freshwater body west of the Rocky Mountains. In addition the lake’s Pelican Bay attracts those who want to catch large trout and others who enjoy looking for the various wildlife such as waterfowl, otter, mink, deer and bald eagles.
Where to Stay While Visiting Crater Lake
If you want to stay inside of the park you have two options: Crater Lake Lodge and The Cabins at Mazama Village. Crater Lake Lodge is a beautiful spot overlooking the lake. It is open seasonally as weather allows. The lodge has 71 rooms. The cabins are a slightly more rugged option. There are a total of 40 rooms spread across 10 small buildings. You will want to book early as we had decided to add Crater Lake to our road trip itinerary about five months before our trip and all of the above were booked solid.
An alternative to staying in the park is to do what we did and base yourself in Medford and travel to the lake as a day trip. We didn’t return to Medford after we went to Crater Lake as we were making our way home so we stayed in a small town a few hours after Crater Lake which was our last stop before making it home to Vancouver, British Columbia.
We stayed at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott Medford Airport, we were able to use points to book our room. The hotel is a newer one, it was clean, we had a very nice room and the hotel was full. It had free parking and a free buffet breakfast which we felt had a lot to offer. You could make your own waffles and it had the usual fare of cereals, some pastries, yogurt and granola and for the “buffet” portion there were eggs, bacon and sausage and the usual beverages of coffee, juice and milk. I spend a lot of time reading reviews from different sources before selecting a hotel and this Marriott had superb reviews which I can agree with after staying there.
After our visit to Crater Lake, we drove a few hours and our last overnight stop before heading home was at the Oakridge Inn & Suites in Oakridge, Oregon. It’s a Best Western, basic but the rooms were inexpensive and clean which was all we needed for this stop.
While it’s close to the airport we did not hear the planes at all it was a very quiet spot with a lot of places close by from shopping to restaurants. We tried the Red Lobster that was close by on Crater Lake Hwy, we enjoyed everything. We wish we had more time to check out Medford but we had been gone for 2 weeks and had to get home to our pets.
We were so happy that we added this stop to our trip, the views at Crater Lake were nothing short of breathtaking. If you get a chance it’s worth a stop. If you visit let us know what you thought of Crater Lake!