Crater Lake

Crater Lake National Park

While we were living in northern California, we had heard how cool the Crater Lake area was, but we weren’t able to make the trip to the deepest lake in the nation over a weekend since it’s not exactly in a convenient location. That being said, its remoteness makes it an extra worthy place to visit. We ended up working a Crater Lake National Park stop into our drive between PT contracts from New Mexico to Washington and we were very glad we did! Due to time constraints, we were only able to stay for one night, but we sure enjoyed our time at the bluest lake we’ve encountered.

If you ever want to feel small, head to a lake that’s 6 miles wide!

This lake is so blue that my shirt almost blends in!

If you ever want to feel small, head to a lake that’s 6 miles wide!

This lake is so blue that my shirt almost blends in!

Garfield Peak

Upon arrival to this massive crater, we first stopped at the Rim Village. Here is where they have bathrooms, a spot to eat, a gift shop, and a pretty big lodge if you want that comfort versus camping. From the parking lot here, we hopped on the Garfield Peak Trail, a 3.4-mile hike climbing a little over 1,000 ft to a great lookout over Crater Lake. It starts behind the lodge on a nice paved path. This is probably the most popular trail by Crater Lake, so it’s heavily trafficked, but definitely worth it for the views of both the lake and the beautiful surrounding landscape.

Finding snow on Garfield Peak Trail

Garfield Peak

A peak with quite the view!

One of many marmot sightings!

Finding snow on Garfield Peak Trail

Garfield Peak

A peak with quite the view!

One of many marmot sightings!

Rim Drive

In order to make the most of our short amount of time here, our next thing on the agenda was to drive around the entire rim, a 33-mile trek around the crater. From Rim Village, we headed south and then east to start making our way around the rim. In a few other travel blogs, people stated that starting the rim drive going east instead of west was the better option. We mostly enjoyed the views from our car, but we did make a few stops.

Plaikni Falls

After a short time on the rim drive, we made our first stop by turning off to the right and going even further east on another highway for a few miles. We stopped at the Plaikni Falls Trailhead to do the 2-mile, 134 ft elevation hike to a waterfall. It was a quick and easy trail, but nice to get some variety while in Crater Lake National Park and see a cool waterfall. It says the trail is handicap (wheelchair) accessible, but there are still some steep inclines and a lot of tree roots to get over.

Plaikni Falls

Cleetwood Trail

At the north end of Crater Lake, we made our second stop at Cleetwood Cove Trail. This was a 1.8-mile round trip trail bringing you down to the water with a 610 ft climb to get you back up to the rim. Once you get down to the end of the trail, there are some little cliffs you can jump off into the crater water. During certain times of the year, there are boats that take you from here to Wizard Island, where you can hike up to the peak of the lava dome, but we did not have the timing right for this excursion.

You’ll encounter beautiful cliffs heading down the Cleetwood Trail.

A top-of-cliff vantage point from a spot where you can hop into the deep blue water!

You’ll encounter beautiful cliffs heading down the Cleetwood Trail.

A top-of-cliff vantage point from a spot where you can hop into the deep blue water!

Watchman Overlook

While completing the rim drive loop just before sunset, our final stop was on the west side, Watchman Overlook. This is a quick pull off from the road that does not require a hike, but it has some good informational plaques going through the formation of the crater. This part of the rim is the closest you can get to Wizard Island without taking a boat to it, so it was a good overlook to check out.

Watchman Overlook

Mazama Village

From here, we made our way south to the Mazama Village Campground where we set up camp for the night. When we went the campground was still under their first come, first serve policy as it was out of season, so we were lucky enough to snag a spot. Make sure to check their national park website for the certain dates where this policy is in effect. There is a small convenience store with firewood and gas for sale at the entrance to this campground too.

Mazama Campground

As we mentioned above, this was a quick day trip, but if we make it back to Crater Lake, we would like to explore Wizard Island, summit Mount Scott (the highest peak in the park) and come prepared to jump in the water!

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