CRATER LAKE
I have said this so many times, but Crater Lake almost moved me to tears. It is absolutely breath taking. To be honest, I really do not know how to put into words how beautiful this place is, but I will try.
When I walked up to Crater Lake for the first time, I honestly thought ‘this can’t be real.’ The color of the water is the most pure and beautiful shade of blue I have ever seen. It’s not like the aqua-blue waterfalls we saw in Arizona. It is a deep, royal, mystical blue. It looks like it is the most pure water I’ve ever laid eyes on. It’s also just so vast!
HISTORY
In case you guys haven’t noticed by now, I’m a total geek when it comes to National Parks! I love to read up on all the history of it; I feel like it makes the experience even more special.
Part of the Cascade Range, Crater Lake was formed when the Mount Mazama volcano had a massive eruption from several vents surrounding the volcano itself, causing the volcano to collapse onto itself. As a result of this caving in, a giant caldera (crater) formed. Until the eruption, Mount Mazama stood around 12,000 feet high but now is only 8,157 feet tall.
The water in Crater Lake is purely a result of rainfall and snowmelt; there is no type of water (creek, stream, ocean, etc.) that runs into Crater Lake. This fact alone is aw-inspiring and makes it feel even more pure. Crater Lake is actually the deepest lake in the United States at 1,943 feet deep and seventh deepest in the world.
Wizard Island is the name of the small island in Crater Lake. It has a vent at the top of it, meaning the volcano is still active, just sleeping, and will erupt again one day. The park offers a boat that will take you out to Wizard Island where you can enjoy some hiking.
OUR TRIP
Crater Lake was a lot of fun for our family! Although I will say, our timing was a bit poor. It was the end of June, but due to a late snowfall, most of the park was closed. We weren’t able to do much hiking since almost every single trail was closed… BUT! We were determined to make the best of it because the park is so gorgeous, so we did hike the only trail that was open, the Discovery Point Trail. It was an easy four-mile out and back hike that went alongside the lake. It offered so many beautiful views of the lake, as well as trees and wildlife. The PCT also runs very close Crater Lake, and a lot of the hikers will actually come on into the park. We ran into a few of them on this trail and enjoyed getting to speak to them and giving well wishes for the rest of their hike. Even though we only got to do one hike while we were there, it was really quite a nice hike, and I don’t feel disappointed with out time there.
If we were able to go during a time when all the trails were open, these would be at the top of my list:
Cleetwood Cove Trail - 2.1mile moderate out & back to Crater Lake shoreline
Garfield Peak Trail - 3.4mile moderate out & back with panoramic views of Crater Lake
Plaikni Falls Trail - 2.2mile easy out & back with large trees and a waterfall
Backcountry camping is offered at Crater Lake; it is all dispersal camping. Since all of the trails were closed, we did not to do any camping while we were there.
Crater Lake has been one of our favorite places to do the Junior Ranger program! Etta Rose was able to participate in a Junior Ranger hike, and she thought the ranger was the coolest. She was able to learn about the Clark’s Nutcracker that is native to the area and plays a large role in the growth of white bark pine trees in the park. The ranger also taught about the different plants that grow in the park and taught Etta Rose about lichen. I’d be lying if I didn’t say Orry and I probably enjoyed the walk just as much as Etta Rose! She also really enjoyed the snow that was still on the ground and getting to play in it.
While we were visiting Crater Lake we did dispersal camping just outside of the park (free – yay!). We have found that most of the time there are great spots for a lot less if you’re willing to stay just outside the parks.
My only disappointment is that we didn’t get to jump into the lake! Again, with the snow still on the ground, the trail to get down to the lake was closed. I guess we will just have to go back again!
