"Jewel in the Cascades " a Crater Lake National Park Travel Page by Hopkid

Crater Lake is the result of a Mount St. Helens-like explosion of a volcano (Mount Mazama) which blew a large chunk of the top of the mountain into the surrounding landscape, covering everything in rock and ash. Over time (over 7,000 years) the cycle of snow and snowmelt gradually filled the crater with water and the lake we see today. As there is no inlet or outlet, the water in the lake is pristine and very clear. On days with little or no wind there is a mirror effect on the water surface. It's really more than a lake in the mountains and it's hard to describe the feeling you get when you're actually taking it all in. We highly recommend a trip to the lake if you're ever in the state of Oregon.

As Crater Lake gets an annual amount of snowfall of over 500 inches, roads are often closed although they do maintain State Highway 62 that takes the visitor to the Annie Spring entrance and beyond to the park headquarters and Steel Visitor's Center. From there you can continue on the road up to a designated rim overlook at Rim Village, all of which will be closed including the Crater Lake Lodge. The lodge opens each year during the last weekend in May and remains open until late September. Other services open as snow is cleared. During our visit in that last week in May, only the Crater Lake Lodge and the Rim Village Gift Shop were open. The only food service was the dining room at the lodge. Luckily the Rim Drive west/north had been plowed and was open to Discovery Point...about 0.75-mile from the road to the Rim Village.

While you have minimal other visitors and the beauty of snow-covered crater slopes and surrounding mountains during the winter, there is the disadvantage of less accessibility to activities and services during the winter. We'd definitely like to return during the summer to do some hiking and take a lake cruise.

You're bound to see a lot of snow in late May and early June. This photo is on the Rim Drive west of Discovery Point. As the snow plows had been working in this area recently, the park was allowing hikers to walk beyond Discovery Point although vehicles were not allowed beyond that point. The total "hike" was 6 miles round trip.

View from the Rim Drive somewhere between Discovery Point and a viewpoint on the other side of The Watchman, a rim-side peak with a fire lookout built on the top.