Despite the state of Oregon being a cornucopia of ethereal, natural beauty, it is home to only one national park: Crater Lake. Approximately 7,700 years ago, the 12,000-foot-tall volcano known as Mount Mazama erupted and collapsed, forming the 1,943 foot deep Crater Lake. This is the deepest lake in America! Crater Lake has become renown for its beautiful, illustrious blue color, as the lake’s water comes directly from snow or rain, making it one of the cleanest and clearest lakes in the world. Teeming with wilderness adventures year-round, a visit to Crater Lake is a must!
While there’s always ample exploration to be done, a half-to-full day at Crater Lake is enough to leave you feeling like you’ve immersively experienced the park. You’ll have time to drive the road around the lake (hitting as many viewpoints as your heart desires), do a bit of hiking, and dip your toes into the lake itself!
Fast Facts About Crater Lake National Park
Size: 183,224 acres
Visitors: 504,942 visitors annually (data from 2024)
Distance from PDX Airport: 265 miles or a 4.5 hour drive — only 1.5-2 hours from MFR (Medford airport)
National Park Initiation: became a national park on May 22nd, 1905, making it the 5th US national park
Fun Fact: there’s a 30-foot, upright, floating mountain hemlock log nickname the ‘Old Man’ that makes its way around the lake (you can read more here)
As current Oregon residents, we live less than 2 hours from the park, in Bend. Central Oregon is known for it’s beautiful Cascade Lakes, but Crater Lake is a crown jewel!
When to Visit
Generally speaking, the best months to visit Crater Lake are July, August, and September. Even in these summer months, you will see snow on the ground. If you’re planning to be in Oregon in October or June, you may want to check out the Crater Lake operations or alerts pages to ensure the roads are open. This part of Oregon receives an annual average of 42 feet of snow, so the Rim Drive roads are seasonally closed for the winter season.
If you enjoy winter sports and playing in the snow, there’s fun to be had in the winter months as well; however, we highly recommend calling before you plan to drive out there as heavy snowfall can affect the operations of the park.
Where to Sleep
It’s quite feasible to visit Crater Lake as a day trip, so there’s no real need to stress about finding local accommodations. That being said, if you’re planning on spending one very full day in the park, you just might want to spend the night as well. Accommodations in the park hit at different price points, with the lodge getting to be a little spendy, while camping is a reliably cheap option.
Crater Lake Lodge
Open mid-May to mid-October, the Crater Lake Lodge boasts 71 rooms, in a picturesque chalet overlooking Crater Lake. The lodge has been open since 1915 and is a peaceful place to wind down after a full day of adventures.
The Cabins at Mazama Village
Seven miles south of Rim Village (~15 min drive), you’ll find Mazama Village with cabin units available for visitors. These are similar to a typical hotel room as they have the expected bed(s), linens, bathroom, shower; however, the cabin rooms do not come quipped with AC. They are open late May to late September. You can check out the cabins here.
Mazama Campground
The Mazama Campground is located right next to the cabins and has 214 sites available for tents and RV campers (50’ maximum). The lux campsite amenities include restrooms, showers, potable water, a gas station, food storage lockers, and a dump station.
Hungry? Food Please!
You have a few different options for chowing down while you’re visiting Crater Lake. There’s the Rim Village Café, Annie Creek Restaurant, Crater Lake Lodge Dining Room, and Mazama Village Store. Food options are all pretty casual in nature— think grab and go sandwiches, salads, pizza, burgers, chicken tenders, etc. Certainly not the most decadent options for food, but any a solid array of choices for when you’re peckish.
A Full Day of Lake Fun
A day at Crater Lake goes fast! Below we have detailed all our favorite things to do while visiting the park. As a note, this is a summer/early fall itinerary— a winter visit to Crater Lake would look very different.
RIM DRIVE
The Rim Drive stretches in a 33 mile loop, encircling Crater Lake. It boasts 30 overlooks, with each highlighting a different view of the lake, a remarkable geologic formation, or a noteworthy environmental feature. Regardless of where you enter the park, this road will be the path for your journey around the lake.
While some of these stops have exhibits with information about the view, most of the pullouts do not have signage… just hypnotizing views with hundreds of shades of blue. Definitely leave yourself lots of time to drive around, because it’s rather tempting to stop at every pullout along the way— our favorite might have to be Merriam Point.
Visitor’s Center
Crater Lake maintains not one, but two visitor centers. The Steel Visitor Center is open year-round, whereas the Rim Visitor Center is only open in the summer and early fall months. A stop at either spot will give you the opportunity to chat with a ranger, stamp your passport book, and fill up your water bottle.
Cleetwood Cove Trail
Cleetwood Cove Trail, one of the park’s steepest trails, and it’s also the only way to access the lake itself. The trail is 2.1 miles long round trip and has a 700-foot elevation change.
While you can certainly hike down to the bottom and promptly head back up, it is a fun area to hang out for a bit. There is ample shoreline and the water is quite refreshing on a hot summer day. For any adrenaline junkies, there’s a fun cliff jumping spot. Bathrooms aren’t fancy, but a pit toilet is better than no toilet!!
A bathing suit isn’t usual hiking attire, but it’s nice to have a suit or quick-dry hiking outfit as well as some sort of towel. If you can handle carrying the extra weight, this is a fun spot to hang out if you bring some snacks and/or cold drinks. Just remember, everything has to make it back up to the car with you!
If you only do one hike in the park, this should be it!
*This trail is currently open, but starting in 2026, it will close for a few years as the trail undergoes restoration.
Wizard Island Lake Tour
There are three different boat tour options available at Crater Lake. You can enjoy a two-hour cruise around the lake, with information about the Crater Lake’s history, geology, and culture. The second option is the cruise around the lake with an additional 3-hour stop on Wizard Island. For anyone just looking to get to Wizard Island, the third boat ride offering is simply a shuttle ride, providing visitors with ~3 hours on the island.
Wizard Island’s formation is fun to learn more about, but there’s also a 2.4 mile hike on the island as well!!
Regardless of which tour or boat ride you select, it will start at the Cleetwood Cove Boat Dock on the north side of Crater Lake. To access the dock visitors must to hike the above mentioned Cleetwood Cove Trail. Reservations can be made here— you can book tickets in advance, but be very ready to make your boat tour purchase with haste, because the 24-hours in advance tickets go FAST!
Watchman Peak Trail
The Watchman Peak trailhead is just 5 min south of Merriam Point. It’s a 1.7 mile hike that affords a view of the lake from a more perched vantage point. It’s also home to an observation station and fire tower, which largely serve educational purposes but afford rather scenic views of the park.
a note on winter fun
In the winter and early spring months, you can trek through the snow with a Park Ranger and enjoy an off-trail exploration through the forests and meadows along the rim of Crater Lake.
No previous snowshoeing experience is necessary. The snowshoes are provided free of charge, and there is no cost for the tour (besides the cost of admission into the park).
These tours are available Saturdays and Sundays, December through April. Advance reservations are required. For more information or to sign up, you can call the park’s visitor center at 541. 594. 3100.
We hope you have a lovely time taking in this gorgeous reflection of nature’s beauty. If you are exploring the national parks throughout the Pacific North West, be sure to check out Mount Rainier next!
written by Hannah
Hannah traded the warm beaches of southwest FL for the outdoor adventure locale that is Bend, OR. Despite the distance, Hannah maintains her bossy big sister role with regular phone calls to keep up with all the little sister shenanigans. Notoriously chatty with her patients as well, Hannah stays busy as a physical therapist, but loves making time to explore newfound hikes. These days she has some extra pack weight; however, Xavier is notorious for being unimpressed by sweeping vistas.
