Crater Lake National Park

About 7,700 years ago, Mount Mazama, a volcano estimated to have stood over 12,000 feet tall, erupted in a cataclysm that ejected an estimated 12 cubic miles of magma — more than 40 times the volume of the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption. The eruption, identified by geologists as the Mazama climactic eruption, deposited ash across much of the Pacific Northwest and is used as a stratigraphic marker in archaeological sites across the continent. After the magma chamber was emptied, the volcano's summit collapsed into the void, creating a caldera roughly 5 miles across and 4,000 feet deep. Over the following centuries, the caldera filled with rain and snowmelt to form Crater Lake, and subsequent smaller eruptions within the caldera created Wizard Island and a smaller, submerged cone known as the Merriam Cone. Hydrothermal vents on the lake floor indicate that the volcano is not extinct, and geologists monitor it for any signs of renewed activity. The eruption was witnessed by Native Americans, and the event is central to the oral traditions of the Klamath people, whose ancestral lands include the area around the lake and who consider the mountain sacred.

Rim Drive, a 33-mile paved road that circles the caldera, is the primary way to see the lake and is typically open from July through October, depending on snow. The road has over 30 overlooks, many of which offer different perspectives on the lake, Wizard Island, and the surrounding Cascade peaks. Highlights include Watchman Overlook, which provides a view of Wizard Island and the western caldera wall; Discovery Point, where the lake's depth is visible; and Cloudcap Overlook, at nearly 8,000 feet, with a panoramic view east across the lake to the peaks of the Cascade Range. Rim Village, at the park's southwest corner, is the main developed area, with the Crater Lake Lodge (built 1915 and renovated in the 1990s), a visitor center, and cafeteria. The Cleetwood Cove Trail, the only legal access to the water's edge, descends 700 feet over 1.1 miles and is the starting point for boat tours to Wizard Island, which allow visitors to hike the island's summit trail (a 2.2-mile round trip with 760 feet of elevation gain to a crater at the top). Swimming is allowed at the bottom of the Cleetwood Cove Trail, though the water is cold and the climb back up is steep and strenuous.

Beyond the lake itself, Crater Lake National Park offers hiking through old-growth forest and up to the highest points in the park. Mount Scott, at 8,929 feet the highest peak in the park, is reached by a 4.2-mile round-trip hike with 1,250 feet of elevation gain, offering what is arguably the best view of the entire caldera and, on clear days, south to Mount Shasta in California. The Watchman Peak Trail, 1.6 miles round trip, climbs to a historic fire lookout with a panoramic view over the lake, and the Garfield Peak Trail, 3.4 miles round trip, ascends 1,000 feet from Rim Village to a summit with views of the lake and the Klamath Basin to the south. The Plaikni Falls Trail, 2 miles round trip, is a relatively flat hike to a waterfall that cascades down the caldera wall — an unusual feature, as the lake is fed only by precipitation. The Pinnacles, located in the southeast corner of the park, are unusual spires of welded volcanic ash formed when hot ash from the Mazama eruption filled stream valleys and eroded into chimney-like forms; the 1-mile Pinnacles Trail follows the edge of Wheeler Creek past dozens of these formations.

Crater Lake is in southern Oregon, about 60 miles north of Klamath Falls and 80 miles south of Bend, the nearest full-service airports. The park is open year-round, but Rim Drive is typically closed from November through June due to snow, and the west and south entrances are the only ones plowed in winter. Winter access is limited to the Rim Village area, accessible by skiing or snowshoeing from the park headquarters, and the park offers guided snowshoe walks on weekends. Crater Lake Lodge is open from May through October, as is the Mazama Village Campground (open June to September), and the park has a smaller campground at Lost Creek. Reservations for the lodge should be made well in advance, as it is the only lodging in the park. Summer is the busiest season, and parking at Rim Village and the Cleetwood Cove Trail can fill by mid-morning, so arriving early is advised. Weather is unpredictable even in summer, with temperatures often in the 50s and 60s and cold winds on the rim. The lake is sometimes obscured by clouds or smoke from regional wildfires in August, and visitors should check current conditions before visiting.