Crater Lake, Oregon's only national park, is in a remote area 80 miles northeast of Medford, the nearest major city. While not a national park "superstar" (and fortunately lacking the crowds that this status brings), this park does have enough majestic, placid beauty to be considered an "undiscovered gem." The highlight is Crater Lake-the deepest lake in the United States at 1,932 feet-created by the fiery eruption of Mt. Mazama more than 7,700 years ago. The eruption buried Native American communities as far as 70 miles away. As the mountain collapsed inward, it formed a caldera that filled with rain and snowmelt until it became the pure, deep blue it is today.
The park offers day hikes, boat tours, bicycling, and fishing. For information contact, Crater Lake National Park, (541) 594-2211
BEST SITES and HIKES
Scenic Drive: In summer the 33-mile drive around Crater Lake provides access to more than a dozen scenic viewpoints, most along the side of the road. Start driving clockwise at either of the visitor centers. A drive all along the meandering road without stopping takes about an hour, but plan to get out of the car and site-see, so allow several hours to enjoy this scenic route. Take along snacks or lunch, as there are several nice picnic areas. Highlights to see include:
Pinnacles: It's worth the drive out to the Pinnacles, a rather eerie landscape of fascinating erosional features accessible by a 7-mile dead-end road off Rim Drive near Kerr Notch.
Cloudcap: Reached via a 3/4 mile paved spur road, Cloudcap, another "must see" on the east rim, treats you to the highest viewpoint accessible by car.
Note: Stay away from the edge of the caldera era, keep behind the rock walls keep and hold on to young children.
Hikes A number of day hikes are well-suited to families. With young kids, try one-or both-of the following easier and shorter treks.
Castle Crest Wildflower Trail is a 0.4-mile loop from the trailhead on East Rim Drive, a half mile from park headquarters, or a 1-mile loop from across the headquarters parking lot. The easy hike (watch out for patches of uneven ground and rocks) takes from thirty-five minutes to forty-five minutes and leads to a small brook, lush vegetation, and, in the summer months, clusters of wildflowers.
Godfrey Glen, is another easy thirty minute hike. The 1-mile trail begins 2.4 miles south of headquarters and leads through ancient forests, affording views of Annie Creek Canyon, wildflowers and, with luck, deer.
Discovery Point, is also an easy hike, but it's longer than Castle Crest or Godfrey Glen. The one hour trail, 1.3 mile one-way trek starts west of Rim Village parking area. It affords great lake views.
Watchman Peak is a goof hike for older children accustomed to hiking. The 1.6 mile round-trip trek leads to an 8, 035-foot-high precipice with a lookout tower that offers a spectacular lake view.
BEST TOURS
In summer don't miss the one-hour-and-forty five minute ranger narrated boat tour of Crater Lake; call (541-594-2255) . During peak season, boats leave nine times a day from the Cleetwood Cove dock, which is at least a one-hour drive and hike from Rim Village.
Purchase tickets in the parking lot at the trailhead before you hike down so you'll be sure to have a space on the boat.
Be forewarned: It's necessary to hike from the parking area down a very steep 1-mile path. This trail, the only access to the shore and boat docks, is recommended only for those in good physical condition and not for anyone with heart, respiratory, or leg problems.
Visitors are advised to take along jackets (the temperature on the lake may be considerably colder than that on land), water, snacks, sun glasses, sunscreen, sturdy hiking shoes-plus cameras and binoculars. A composting toilet is available near the docks.
The boats, which carry up to sixty passengers, cruise around the lake along towering cliffs and by the Phantom Ship, a rather odd looking basalt island that, in certain light, looks like an early battleship. There's a stop at Wizard Island, a cinder cone that rises 760 feet above the lake's surface. If you want to stay and explore, hike the 1-mile trail to the cone's top and picnic. Some hardy souls swim in the lagoon (temperatures usually range from 45-degrees F to 50-degrees F and seldom get higher than 60-degrees F). Those who stay can take a later boat back, but the return will depend upon space available on the later boats.
Don't forget that the return requires that the kids have enough energy to hike back up the trail to the rim.
BEST PLACES TO STAY and EAT
Lodging and dining is limited in Crater Lake National Park. Along with camp sites, there are two lodging possibilities. Crater Lake Lodge has 71-guest rooms and a dining room. Mazama Village Motor Inn (541-830-8700) is a forty-room motel style property. Lodging is limited within a twenty-five mile radius of the park. Options include Fort Klamath Lodge Motel, Highway 62, Fort Klamath (541-381-2234), 6 miles from the southern entrance to the park. Diamond Lake Resort, (541-793-3333 or 800-733-7593) on a mountain lake 13 miles northwest of the park's northern rim, has forty plain but serviceable motel rooms, ten housekeeping cabins with kitchens and forty-three rustic cabins plus a restaurant and boat rentals.
In the park, Rim Village has a cafeteria and a restaurant, the Wachtman, serving burgers, sandwiches, pizza and snacks. The Camper Services Building, Mazama Village, near the Annie Springs entrance, 4 miles south of park headquarters, is open during the summer and sells convenience store items.
--Candyce H. Stapen, is the author of Great Family Vacations Mid-West & Rocky Mountain Region, Second Edition (Globe Pequot Press).
