Flying over Crater Lake a couple of years ago, I found the sight so amazing from the air — spectacular, even — that I knew this was a place that I had to visit.  It took a while to find an opportunity. Crater Lake National Park is remote. But, a trip to Oregon for a family event provided just the occasion.

Crater Lake is formed from an ancient volcano, which erupted long ago with a massive blast, losing roughly 1300 meters (4000 ft) off of its top. The loss of material from the magma chamber below caused the remaining material in the center to collapse.  The resulting crater eventually filled with water, making the deepest lake in the United States. Up close, its tremendous size is hard to take in.

The rim is still quite high and even in June we encountered a lot of snow. During our visit, the drive around the rim was partly closed as were many hiking trails. We were still able to find a couple of nice hikes, such as at pull off no. 8 on the park map, along Munson Creek by Duwee Falls (easy hike, through wonderful conifer forest, but don’t expect to see much of the falls, which are hidden in a narrow valley) and at pull off no. 1, a trail that climbs the ridge behind the bountiful spring that forms Alice Creek (moderate difficulty, through some nice old timber).

For food, we enjoyed dining at the old Crater Lake Lodge, which has a good kitchen and a nice selection of regional wine. It is a little pricey. The view from the patio behind the lodge is wonderful! And, the lobby is a fine place for a drink or coffee and cake. Down in the valley below, we were surprised to find a great little organic grocery store at Jo’s Motel on route 62 in Fort Kalmath. They had a nice variety of organic food in the tiny establishment, as well as a carry out snack bar with fine sandwiches and burgers (though service was a little slow when we came by for lunch). While there, you will want to pick up a bottle of their All Terrain brand DEET-free herbal mosquito repellant, which we found to be effective. Some trails can be buggy. Lots of other wildlife can be seen, as well, such as deer that like to browse on the grass along the roadside.

All-in-all, it was well worth the effort to visit this national park!

A satellite view of the crater. (Problems viewing the map? Then click here)