Crater Lake
NATIONAL PARK
By DIENEKE
The was our first stop in The First Ones road trip. As mentioned in that post, one limiting factor to our explorations was our new pup, Lola. Another factor that limited our exploration was the time of year: late June. This is another great example to use one of my favorite planning tips: visit nps.gov. We came in from the North Entrance, which we had checked had just opened. I will repeat, this was LATE JUNE and only the West Drive to Rim Village and Park Headquarters was open! While it would have been awesome to drive the entire rim, we thought it pretty awesome that the extreme nature of this Park kept most of it closed and accessible only to wildlife!
7,700 years ago, Mount Mazama violently erupted, creating a caldera that now contains Crater Lake. Fed entirely by rain and snow, it is the deepest lake in the US and one of the most pristine in the world.
Wizard Island is a cinder cone that was created after the eruption of Mount Mazama and is the only cinder cone that currently rises above lake level. From the end of June – September, you can take a boat tour around the lake (2 hours) or stop at Wizard Island (5 hours) for a completely different perspective of the park. Since we were too early in the season, we were limited to the Rim Road; however, this is on the list for the next visit.
Since there wasn’t a lot to do with so much closed and not wanting to leave Lola in the car, we stopped at every pull-out and read every informational sign including Watchman Overlook and Discovery Point. We also took our time in the Visitor Center and walked around most of the buildings within Rim Village.
Crater Lake still remains the most stunning singular formations I have witnessed. I had seen loads of photographs of this Park but nothing prepared me for standing on the rim. White fluffy clouds and snow played with each other along the shore and the blue sky and still water were indistinguishable. With so much left unexplored, there’s a lot left to do during the next visit!
