Crater Lake for the day-tripper
Written: May 17 '00 (Updated Jul 03 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Spectacular views, easy day trip.
Cons: Watching people risk their lives at the cliff edges.
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| WritingLife's Full Review: Crater Lake National Park |
When Mt. Mazama blew its top over 7000 years ago, the native people in the area were so awed that their legends of the great mountain that became a lake persist to this day. Today's travelers to this site are equally impressed -- and should give the crater equal awe and respect, as it deserves.
Best time to visit is from June (when most of the snow has melted) through mid-September. A car trip around the perimeter of the caldera will take the better part of a day -- all day if you try a few side trips. Begin the tour at the historic Crater Lake lodge. Pick up a little guidebook titled Road Guide to Crater Lake National Park for about $5. It contains good descriptions of the geology of the area.Stops are clearly marked on the road, with informative signs to help you recognize the features of the area. Head west (left) from the lodge.
If you have time, stop at the Watchman and take the short trail up to the top. There is an old lookout station at the top of the trail, and the view of the lake and the surrounding area is spectacular. Diamond Lake, about 20 miles to the north, is clearly visible, as are Mt. Bailey and Mt. Thielson (nicknamed the lightening rod of the Cascades). The trail is steep, but short, good for day trippers.
Continue left around the road. Use the guidebook and the road signs to help you decide where to stop. Wizard Island Overlook is worth stopping for -- you'll get a spectacular view of the island, formed by volcanic action after Mazama's spectacular eruption. Also try the Llao Rock overlook. This manta-ray-shaped formation is the remains of a dome of intrusive igneous rock that formed prior to Mazama's eruption.
If you started early- to mid-morning, you should reach the Cleetwood Cove trail by midday. There is a good picnic area here, as well as the only trail that goes down to the lake itself. The trail is steep, but only 1 mile long, so do-able for a day trip and worth the climb. Be sure to take water. It's a steep, hard climb out! At the bottom, if you have the time and the money, you can take a boat ride out to Wizard Island and do the hiking trail there. Boat rides are about $10 per passenger.
Continue around the lake from Cleetwood Cove. You'll wind through the highest point of the drive, Cloudcap. This is a great place to get good photos of the lake.
At the Sun Notch, there is another short trail that goes through lovely wildflower meadows and gives good views of the Phantom Ship, Wizard Island, and Llao Rock.
The Castle Crest Wildflower Trail is a short, easy trail that winds through wet and dry meadows, giving the hiker a wide sampling of alpine wildflowers in a small area. The trail is easy, so if you skipped the earlier trails because of health or mobility reasons, try this one.
From Castle Crest, return to the lodge. You can pick up something to eat or browse the bookshop.
For those staying at the lodge or camping in the vicinity, there are longer hiking trails that are also more challenging. Try the 5 mile (round trip) trail up Mt. Scott early in the morning, when views of the lake are best.
Safety warning:Be smart and stay behind the stone walls. Every day at Crater Lake, people who expect national parks to be as safe as Disneyland risk their lives by climbing over the walls and guard rails to get a better picture from the very edge of the precipices. Last time I visited the lake, a woman was killed falling over the edge of a 300 foot cliff. This is nature. Respect it.
Don't feed the animals:At each stop, especially at Discovery Point, you will be pestered by Golden-mantled ground squirrels (you can tell they're not chipmunks since they do not have stripes over their eyes), gray jays (also called camp robbers), and Clark's nutcrackers, all begging for food. Resist the urge to feed the cute little buggers. The ground squirrels suffer each year from being fed. They get the wrong food, they overpopulate all summer, and starve when the tourists go away in the winter. They also try to store corn curls and such in their caches, which then rot, leaving the squirrel with no food for the winter.
Recommended:
Yes
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WritingLife
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Location: Salem, OR
Reviews written: 76
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Iconoclastic, skeptical, dyed-in-the-wool curmudgeon. Synesthete. Surprising.
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