Views at Crater Lake

In my previous post, I provided some of my research in traveling from Portland to Crater Lake National Park by car and some stops along the road trip you could take along Highway 58. In today’s post, I’ll share some stops along the scenic and historic Rim Drive and the views of the different blues you may see depending on your weather conditions. The Rim Drive is 33 miles of road that goes around the whole of Crater Lake, with plenty of pull-outs and parking and 30 overlooks with lake views and vistas to see along the loop. I will cover what we did when there was not enough visibility to view much of Crater Lake, and then the brilliant views at Crater Lake that include the most beautiful blues when we finally got a sunny third day.

Background

Crater Lake National Parks’ deep blue water and caldera walls have attracted people for thousands of years. Crater Lake formed when 12,000 foot Mount Mazama imploded 7,700 years ago, leaving a huge hole with cliffs almost 2,000 feet high walls. Over 300-400 years, rain and snowmelt filled the basin to create Crater Lake. There is no other water source into Crater Lake, which means there are no other inlets or outlets, just precipitation in the waters, with no sediments or minerals or such from streams or rivers. With a depth of 1,943 feet, it is North America’s deepest and clearest lake. Visibility at times can be 140 feet.

Old growth forests surround the lake and support a diversity of Cascades plant and wildlife. Crater Lake NP is the only national park in Oregon, and being established in 1902, Crater Lake is the fifth oldest national park in the US. You will be taking the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway into the park. This byway actually extends 500 miles south, continuing from Crater Lake National Park south through Lava Beds National Mounument all the way to Lassen Volcanic National Park in California. Like all scenic byways, the road itself is a destination, not just the volcanic parks in this case anchoring the volcano to volcano at both ends of the drive.

In my case entering from Hwy 58 from Portland and the North Entrance, along the way towards Crater Lake, you can view areas burned by wildland forest fires and a pumice meadow called Pumice Desert. Because the valley here was buried by possibly 200 feet of pumice, plants have a difficult time growing and you will see a noticable low plant covered area with only 16 documented species of plants that can live there.

Overcast Days at Crater Lake – Other Things Besides the Lake

During our trip during the week of 4th of July, only the west portion of Rim Drive was fully open – parts of the east rim were still closed. When the road fully opens varies year to year – usually it is July through October, but it depends on how much snow there was during the winter and what debris may need to be cleared. Crater Lake gets on the average 40 some feet of snow, so there’s a lot! We had planned for several days at Crater Lake in case of the weather. This was fortunate because on our arrival it was rainy and this is what the famous blue waters of Crater Lake looked like as we stopped at Merriam Point and at Watchman Peak. There was so much snow Watchman Peak trail access was closed, and it’s one of the most iconic trails and views in the park. Make sure as your trip approaches, to check the park conditions at the National Park website and prepare your mindset accordingly of what is accessible.

The island you see below in Crater Lake is the famous Wizard Island, a cinder cone formed as magma erupted into the air, cooled quickly, and fell as cinders. A small crater rests on its summit. Magma also erupted under water, forming a smooth pillow lava. A similar volcano, Merriam Cone, is hidden from view beneath the lake.

As you can see, even without the sunshine, the blue waters are still beautiful.

But, given the cloud cover and fog, during our arrival, and also the next day where even the narrated trolley tours were canceled all day because of lack of visibility, we tried to make do with other activities. In our visit, even Steel Visitor Center was closed for renovation. But, that still left some forest and meadow hiking trails, like Lady of the Woods, a 0.7 mile loop trail as an option.

The trail starts behind the Steel Visitor Center and passes historic stone Park Headquarters “rustic architecture” built between 1926 and 1941. The Lady of the Woods is an unfinished sculpture carved by a 31 year old medical doctor staying in the nearby housing in 1917. There is a great brochure that provides information on various points to see which you should check out here at the Crater Lake Institute.

“This statue represents my offering to the forest, my interpretation of its awful stillness and repose, its beauty, fascination, and unseen life” – Dr. Earl Russell Bush

Another option is Godfrey Glen, which is at lower elevation so may have more visibility then up at the lake rim. It’s also an alternative if you want to see pinnacles when you don’t have access to Pinnacle Trail (such as Pinnacles Road closed – otherwise it’s a 6 mile hike from the East Rim drive to the trail). The Godfrey Glen trail which also offers pinnacles in a 1.2 mile loop trail. The overlook is to 300 ft below in a box canyon flanked by fluted spires of beige ash where hot gasses bubbled from cylindrical vents called fumeroles. You can find more information at this trail guide to Godfrey Glen at the Crater Lake Institute.

Although as covered in the previous post the dining options are limited inside the Crater Lake Park, the Great Room in the Crater Lake Lodge is a worthwhile hangout to have drink and snacks starting 3pm onward. There is also a small museum to the left of the checkout desk where you can see some history of the lodge. For instance, in 1934, the schedule of rates list a Room with a bowl and a pitcher for 2 people as $3, while a Room with hot and cold water and a double bed for two is $4, Room with toilet $5, and a Room with a bath and twin beds for two is $7.50! The 1935 breakfast menu offered buttered toast, hot cakes and bacon, dry or cooked cream and cream, cantaloupe, or stewed prunes, among other options.

Other activities to consider doing are shopping at the gift shops, purchasing and mailing postcards to get the Crater Lake postmark, and collecting pressed pennies. The stores are run by the Crater Lake Natural History Association, a non-profit partner of the National Park Service, so your purchases are supporting Crater Lake National Park to fund Junior Ranger activities, education, and park research. Also don’t forget to get your national park stamp for your America’s National Park Passport.

Sunny Day at Crater Lake

One of the first stops I recommend if the skies are sunny is Sinnott Memorial Observation Station, a stone shelter built 900 feet above Crater Lake on Victor Rock in 1930. You can find the station on Rim Village Promenade, near the Rim Visitor Center. The building was designed to blend into the caldera cliff using native stone, concrete, and log beams. Can you see it below to the left in the first photo? Below that is a photo taken looking down at the waters from Sinnot Memorial from the lookout – there are not many spots you can look so close to the edge safely, making Sinnott Memorial a must-stop for some of the best views at Crater Lake.

From there, continue walking the Rim Promenade of Rim Village, which is a pedestrian and pet friendly pathway with views of the rim edge, and is only 0.3 of a mile. Not all trails along the rim are pet friendly, so this is where you will see all the cute doggies getting their photo taken with Crater Lake. We didn’t have a dog, but we did encounter several chipmunks including this aggressive beggar – reminder don’t feed the wildlife! And throw all your trash away! We were horrified when we saw it find a discarded napkin someone had left behind and stuff the whole thing into it’s mouth.

The historic Rim Drive is 33 miles with 30 overlooks designed between 1931 and 1938 to highlight a specific view at Crater Lake, such as that of the lake, a significant geologic formation in the caldera, etc. The contours of the Rim Drive road were designed to compliment the natural landscape, and disappear from view as you look across the lake from any point. Some of the views at Crater Lake along Rim Drive I wanted to highlight include (counter clockwise from Rim Village)

• Discovery Point to view Wizard Island. Located just a bit from the west end of Rim Village, the trail here is particularly popular during sunrise. You can easily walk here from Rim Village as it is about 2.5 miles. The viewpoint is named for where gold prospectors first discovered the lake in 1853 and after a vote, named it “Deep Blue Lake”. they were not the first of course – Klamath Indians describe the collapse of the mountain and formation of the caldera as the outcome of battle between spirit gods and celebrate it in sacred song thousands of years ago. The lake was called Giwaas (a most sacred place), known as a place of power. The name Crater Lake came later in 1869, when Jacksonville newspaper editor Jim Sutton and others explore the lake by boat, and five people visited Wizard Island exploring the cinder cone. In Sutton’s article, he called the lake “Crater Lake”.
  
• Devil’s Backbone. If you look to the right of this pullout/parking area, you can see a 304 meters long 50 meters wide volcanic rock called andesite that slashes down from water’s edge to the rim. The rock formation is a dike, when molten lava fills a crevice and builds up to create the slanted sleek formation. This also gives you a view of the other side of Wizard Island.
  
• Overlooking Steel Bay between Llao Rock and Pumice Point. Now that you are at the northern portion of the lake, if you look across to the other side of the lake, you might be able to spot Rim Village, maybe Crater Lake Lodge, as you look across towards Garfield Peak.
  
• Cleetwood Cove. Here you can also find Cleetwood Cove Trail, the only trail down to the lake to take Wizard Island Boat Tours (not running during our visit). You can see Mt Scott in the skyline. This is the other iconic trail at Crater Lake because of it providing access down to the lake itself, though it’s a hike full of switchbacks that can be tough coming back up. We didn’t take this trail, but if the tours to Wizard Island had been open we would have. Future trip I guess!
  
• Stop in the northeast part of Rim Drive, close to Skell Head to the left/south and the Palisades to the right/north, overlooking Grotto Cove. This was the most east on the road we could go before we had to turn around since part of the East Rim was still closed. I found the water the most incredible and surreal here out of all the spots we stopped in all the views at Crater Lake.
  
• Heading east from Rim Village, go to Sun Notch Trail for a view of Phantom Ship. The 0.5 mile trail takes you to Phantom Ship, a grouping of rocky spires that look like an old pirate ship and which during different weather conditions, it can completely disappear from view and go in and out of the fog, thus the Phantom name of this island. One of my favorite views at Crater Lake, this one is fantastic on a clear day and even fun when it’s not clear and you can capture the mysteriousness of Phantom Ship partially hidden.
  
• Other views at Crater Lake I was not able to visit but would recommend if they are open, since they were not for my trip: Pinnacles Overlook to see volcanic rock spires (out and back 1 mile easy trail on Innacles Trail if Pinnacles Road is open) and is also the highest overlook on the north part of the rim so you will get a more clear view then Godfrey Glen. Cloudcap Overlook (pullout area on the East Rim, if the road is open), the highest road-access overlook of the rim if you don’t want to hike. Watchman Overlook (after an hour hike from Watchman Peak Trail with elevation gain on 1.7 mile out and back) for a view down to Wizard Island and to visit a cool looking watchman’s observation tower.

A trip to Crater Lake is worth it, even if the weather may not be perfect be it snow, rain, or wildfire smoke that may put a wrench in your plans. I hope you have an opportunity to visit and see this all for yourself – these photos don’t fully capture how truly magnificent it is here and the blues in all the various views at Crater Lake.

Have you been to Crater Lake yet? What were your favorite views at Crater Lake?