Today we ventured to our third and final national park of this trip, Crater Lake. I couldn’t wait to see this beautiful blue lake that I had seen in so many pictures.

Oregon Scenic Byways

Large lava fields became apparent as we drove along a stretch of Cascade Lakes National Scenic Byway this morning. It seems like every drive we make in Oregon is scenic, whether it is named as such or not. And every road is in good condition (take a hint, Tucson). We are headed toward Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway that leads to Crater Lake.

North Entrance

We always try to get a picture of the national park sign when visiting, but the one at the north entrance was missing. Later in the afternoon, Tony took my picture with a gift shop sticker as a substitute. The sign should be hung after the snows melt, but maybe all the construction at the park is taking attention away from getting that done.

Pumice Desert

We stopped at the park’s first turnout — the Pumice Desert. The area has just a few tenacious plant species that can grow on this volcanic rock that has no nutrients and drains water away quickly. It had more life on it than I expected.

Fast Facts About Crater Lake

• About 7.700 years ago, Mt. Mazama blew its top and collapsed inward forming a caldera that is now Crater Lake. It is being monitored for possible future eruptions.
• Crater Lake is 1,943 feet deep which makes it the deepest lake in the US and ninth deepest in the world. It is six miles across but seems smaller as one stands on the rim looking down on the entire lake.
• It has two islands, Phantom Ship is a 400,000-year-old lava island and Wizard Island is a newer cinder cone volcano within the larger caldera of the crater.
• The blue color is due to the purity of the water. Crater Lake is only filled by snowmelt and has no river source to bring in silt, pollution, or other impurities.
• The Klamath Tribe ancestors were in the area when the volcano blew and they have handed-down oral histories of what happened. They call the lake Giiwas, which means “sacred place”.

First Hike – the Watchman Peak Trail

Coming in the north entrance, we followed the West Rim Drive to some lookouts and our first hike, the Watchman Peak Trail, which is only 1.6 miles, but with an elevation gain of 420 feet is marked “moderate”. There is a fire tower at the top that is still used during peak fire danger times. A ranger mentioned that this is a great place to watch the sunset.

Rim Village and the Rim Trail

Parking at the Rim Village was a little horrendous. They have a few long spots for RVs, but not enough. We drove around and were able to wait on someone leaving to finally get a spot. From there we walked the Rim Trail along with lots of other visitors.

Castle Crest Trail for the Wild Flowers

Across from the Steel Visitor Center, the Castle Crest Trail is a short but beautiful hike that follows a stream with the gorgeous wildflowers in bloom here in July. The path is sometimes wet, but paving stones make for easy crossings of the stream. Monkeyflower blooms are very prolific, and I saw two varieties on the trail. The yellow ones were smaller and more water-loving than the fuchsia ones.

Construction on the closed portion of the East Rim Drive could be seen from the start and end of the trail loop. Naturally, Tony had to stop and watch the heavy construction vehicles doing their thing and wishing he could try his hand at operating them for a short while (typical male). One of the workers even gave him a knowing nod and wave.

Lady of the Woods

The Lady of the Woods Trail is behind the Steel Visitor Center. Walking through the old-growth forest is very cool, and there is a rock carving of a woman near the creek.

Mazama Campground, Loop F

Mazama Village and Campground is near the southern entrance. In fact, the Annie Creek Restaurant here can be accessed from highway 62 without entering the park. We took a short drive out the south gate to see if we could find a park sign here, but no luck. Tony ended up taking a picture of the only park sign we saw as well as a Bentley from New York that was in front of us at the park’s gate.

We ended up on Loop F of the campground that happened to have the only “Comfort Station” (fancy name for bathroom) that had showers. Our experience with hot water there was hit and miss. The camp store has showers that no longer require quarters, but has signs up that say to limit your shower to five minutes. That’s reasonable and the water was hot.

The campground loops through the forest and sites have bear boxes with rules about food storage and waste. We had an electrical site which meant we could run the a/c for the cats more easily when parked at trailheads during the day. The alpine sunshine feels very warm, but shade is cool as are the nights. The fire danger was marked as “high” on signs, yet campfires were allowed. The ground is very silty, which gets in everything just like sand at the beach.