As soon as we started planning our summer trip, my one requirement was that we stop at Crater Lake National Park. It’s been towards the top of my list of places to see for a long long time, even ahead of Yellowstone. When we finally figured out our actual trip itinerary, at first I was a bit worried that we’d basically be doing a drive by of the park, but that turned out to be just fine. There’s basically one 33 mile long main road that winds around the rim, with the main focal point being the lake. Comparing this to a much more complex park like Yellowstone, Crater Lake really can be seen and experienced in a single day. Of course, I’m also sure if one were inclined, they could spend weeks exploring the park, with no danger of getting bored.
Based on the wildfire smoke we experienced the previous evening at Diamond Lake, I was worried that our day at Crater Lake would be a hazy mess. But when we got up the next day, the air had cleared quite a bit. By the time we drove through the park’s south gate and up to the rim, the visibility was better than we could have hoped for, considering the nearby fires.
Walking up to the rim for the first time was a breathtaking experience, similar to that first glimpse of the Grand Canyon. The water was a striking cobalt blue, with the shores of the lake tapering to a crystal clear aquamarine. In a way, the scenery reminded me of Santorini (but without the donkeys and ouzo), another massive volcano that blew up which now has a water filled caldera.
After we filled up our eyeballs at that very first lookout, we decided to drive over to the Cleetwood Cove trail before the temperature went up much further. That’s the one trail that’s both safe and legal to get down to the water. While we were thinking about taking Boomer down the trail with us, there were a number of rangers at the trailhead making sure everyone behaved, and in this case behaving meant no dogs. While I thought about trying to convince them that we were Boomer’s emotional support humans (which is absolutely true) they all had that inexorable look about them and I had no doubt that our compelling argument would have fallen on deaf ears. Since the plan was to actually get into the water at the end of the hike down to the lake, Lana ended up volunteering me to walk down with the boys, while she hung out at the RV with Boomer. For those that don’t know, national parks are extremely unfriendly to dogs.
The hike down to the lake involved a 700 foot change in elevation, but with the countless switchbacks, it didn’t have any steep portions, and as long as someone is willing to put in the steps, it’s not a big challenge (at least on the way down). It took about 25 minutes to make our way down to the bottom of the trail. I’ve already left a comment for the National Parks Service that they should explore some sort of zipline or waterslide experience as an alternate way down into the water.
We were pretty hot by the time we made it down and that chilly water looked extremely inviting. Considering it’s all rain and snow melt (there were still patches of snow scattered around the shoreline), I thought the water would have been colder than it was. According to the ranger we spoke with, the surface temp was somewhere in the low 60s.
My one regret with our swim experience is that we didn’t bring our snorkel gear with us. An underwater camera would also have been great to have. Despite the lack of toys we didn’t really need anyway, the water was super refreshing after the hot and dusty hike. Swimming in Crater Lake reminded me of my SCUBA experience at Silfra (Iceland) in terms of how clear the water was, although in Iceland I needed a dry suit as the water temperature was 36 degrees.
After just the right amount of frolicking in the lake, we sat in the sun for a few minutes and then headed back up the trail to rejoin Lana and Boomer. On the way up the 700’ vertical change felt more like 7000’, but that was mainly because of my current physical performance level, it wasn’t actually that bad.
After we got back to the RV we elected not to drive around the full 33 mile loop around the lake, and instead headed back (counter clockwise) towards the south gate of the park. With that said, I do think that the best way to drive around the lake is clockwise, if for no better reason than it’s easier to pull over at the various overlooks on the lake-side of the road.
While I would have loved to stay into the evening to catch the sunset at the lake, I was outvoted on that one. We ended up stopping at a couple of nice overlooks on the way out of the park, and then getting a head start on our drive back to California.
Overall, I would absolutely say that Crater Lake lived up to expectations. And the fact that we didn’t bring our snorkel gear and an underwater camera down for our swim just means that we need to come back.
