Crater Lake National Park

Most Recent Visit

June 2015

When to Go

The majority of visitors come to Crater Lake in the summer season which is fairly short (July through mid-September). During this time, all park roads will be open and any tours such as the Wizard Island Boat Tour will be running as well. You can also visit in the winter season (November through April) to experience snowshoeing and cross country skiing, some of which are ranger guided. The other months – May, June, and October are hit or miss on what is open and what the weather will be like. Keep in mind, Crater Lake is one of the snowiest places in the entire United States. For example, in 2023, it got 52 feet of snow. So it really depends on snow totals to determine when roads open each year.

How to Get Here

The two closest major airports are Portland and Sacramento, both of which are about a 5-hour drive away from Crater Lake. You might be able to fly into Redmond, Oregon (near Bend) on Alaska Airlines which is about a 2.5-hour drive away. When we visited, we flew into Sacramento and paired Crater Lake with other national parks such as Redwoods and Lassen Volcanic.

Trip Length

For Crater Lake itself, you can visit in 1-2 days depending on what you want to do. If you are only interested in driving the 33-mile park road around the lake and going on a boat tour to Wizard Island, one day is plenty. If you want to go on some of the other hikes in the area or see the stars at night, you’ll want to plan on at least one additional day.

Where to Stay

We stayed two nights at the Cabins at Mazama Village which is one of the lodging options in the park. Back in 2015, when we visited, we did have to book somewhat in advance. These days, it’s a whole new world. We’d recommend booking very far in advance (around 1 year) as they now sell out very quickly. If you can’t get any of the park lodging – check Expedia, Airbnb, and Vrbo to see what is available in the area. Klamath Falls is about 45 minutes away and should have a good supply of lodging options as a last resort.

What to Do

There are plenty of things to keep you busy for a day or two or more in Crater Lake National Park. Whether it is a simple trip around the Rim Drive, a boat tour on Crater Lake, or any of the hiking opportunities in the park, you will be able to find something to do. Make sure to stop at the Rim Visitor Center for amazing lake views, check out the exhibits, and watch the park movie as well as talk to a park ranger to get help planning your days in the park!

Scenic Rim Drive

The most popular thing to do at Crater Lake is to dive the 33-mile scenic Rim Drive which gives you continued panoramic views of Crater Lake along with forests and meadows. There are 30 overlooks on the drive to make sure you can capture all angles of this stunning lake. For a detailed view, you can visit the Crater Lake maps page. You should allow about 2 hours to drive around the entire rim which includes time to make several stops along the way. As mentioned above, keep in mind that July-mid September is the primary season for all roads to be open due to the heavy snow they get each year.

Boat Tours

After you are done driving and taking in the views from above the lake, you might as well go get on the water! However, taking a boat tour on Crater Lake is not as simple as it might be elsewhere. While there is typically plenty of parking on the rim drive, you actually have to hike down to the lake to get on your boat via the Cleetwood Cove Trail.

Standard Lake Cruise (2 hours)

If you don’t have interest in getting out at Wizard Island to walk around or hike to the summit, we recommend the standard lake cruise. This will take you around Crater Lake for 2 hours providing spectacular views of the cliffs around the lake, Wizard Island, and Phantom Ship (the other island in the lake). It is an open-air boat, so you’ll get great views wherever you are sitting.

Wizard Island Tour (~4.5 hours)

If you are willing to get some physical activity in, this is the boat tour we would recommend. You still get a shorter version of the standard lake cruise where you go around the perimeter of the lake, but you also get a ~3-hour stop on Wizard Island to explore. Wizard Island is a “volcano within a volcano”. There are not many chances to hike a volcano inside another volcano so if you are able, take advantage of this unique experience.

Hiking

Cleetwood Cove Trail (2.1 miles RT with 610 feet of elevation gain)

This trail is your gateway to any boat tour on Crater Lake. It will seem really nice on the ~1 mile trek down to the lake, but you have to go back up the trail to get back to your car after the boat tour is over. We feel like we are in decent shape, but the climb back up really kicked our butts and it seemed much harder than a 610-foot climb which we do all the time on other hikes. The trail is actually closed for the entire 2025 and 2026 seasons for rehabilitation work on the trail and the facilities around the lake. This means all boat tours are closed as well during those seasons.

Wizard Island Trail (2.4 miles RT with 761 feet of elevation gain)

Perhaps the reason we struggled so much climbing Cleetwood Cove Trail after our boat tour was over was because we also climbed Wizard Island which is a similar trail in the sense that you climb almost 800 feet in approximately one mile before descending back to the lake to reboard your boat. We think it is well worth the effort though and you’ll have plenty of time with 3 hours on the island (the average time to hike round trip is 1.5-2 hours).

Plaikni Falls Trail (2.0 miles RT with 137 feet of elevation gain)

Getting away from the lake for a bit, this is an easy walk through the forest which culminates in a very nice waterfall. You’ll have a chance to see some small wildlife as well such as marmots or picas.

Pinnacles Valley Trail (0.8 miles RT with 42 feet of elevation gain)

Another easy walk through the forest with really cool volcanic spires on display. According to the National Park Service, these spires were formed when hot ash filled the valley and gases escaped causing the material to harden so much that it hasn’t eroded since.

Other Trails

Some other options that we didn’t do on our trip but will do when we go back are Discovery Point (2-miles RT with 100 feet of elevation), Mount Scott (4.4-miles RT with 1,250 feet of elevation), and Garfield Peak (3.6-miles with 1,010 feet of elevation). If you are around for longer than a couple of days, check out the official Crater Lake Park hiking page for many more options!