Crater Lake National Park
June 3, 2023
Even though I have been to this park twice in the past, I am filling in my existing parks if I have time. This was a last minute trip with my son along for the adventure. I checked out the National Park website on trail conditions as the park got record setting 52 feet of snow this winter. They noted about ¾ of the trails closed but had several listed as open. No other information except most of the rim road and the north entrance were closed still due to snow. This meant a slightly longer drive to get there as we would have to go through the west entrance. The trail to Watchman peak sounded like a promising place to be at dawn so we needed to be on the trail by 4:30am and drove throughout the night. As we got to the park boundary, there was a full moon that lit up the increasing amounts of snow on the sides of the road. By the time we got to the rim road, we were driving between two walls of snow and I was feeling like these planned hikes were not going to happen. The road barricade a couple miles before the Watchman trailhead confirmed my fears. We parked at Discovery Point and waited for dawn as it was still a good view from this location.
As the moon was setting in the west, the sun was peeking over the rim of the canyon in the east. Venus was also hanging around and being reflected on the lake waters below. We got some good pictures then took a couple hour nap in the car waiting for more light to adjust our plans. There was a large informational sign that indicated that ALL trails were inaccessible, but the rim road was plowed and open to hikers past the barricade. We set by foot out on the road and went a couple miles. There was one trail that was visible but only ¼ a mile in, it disappeared under deep snow. By the time we got back to the car, there were numerous vehicles in the parking area, so we headed down to the visitor center and lodge area to walk about. Most areas were still accessible near the rim but required a trek over the snow. We tried one more trail in Mazama village where the campground is located but could not even find the trailhead due to the deep snow. We left the park and made a couple stops in the Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest for short hikes. There is a cool chasm where the Rogue River rushes through a tight gorge then a few miles downstream, the river makes a detour through a lava tube. The river disappears into the tube and re-emerges out the other end creating a natural bridge. The trip had less hiking than anticipated but was fun overall.
Total Cost: $185
