Crater Lake National Park | TOP THINGS TO DO!!
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- Опубликовано: 27 дек 2020
- We spend an awesome weekend exploring Crater Lake National Park just before it starts closing down for the season! This park has been on our bucket list for years now and we honestly didn’t think it would still be fully open this late in the year.
Crater Lake is one of the snowiest inhabited places in the USA. The park receives an average of 44 feet of snow each year! Each winter, they close the Rim Drive and North Entrance to cars with either the first big snowstorm, or on November 1st, whichever comes sooner.
It is October 30th and only a couple times in the past 10 years has the whole rim drive been open this late in the year so we feel very lucky. The rim drive will be closing the day after tomorrow… so we are here just in time!
Once a 12,000 foot volcano, Crater Lake was formed almost 8,000 years ago after an enormous volcanic eruption of Mount Mazama. The volcano collapsed after the eruption and created this huge crater and over time, rain and snow accumulated in the caldera and began to form a lake. Crater Lake is nearly 2,000 feet deep making it the deepest lake in the United States, and 9th deepest in the world.
Day 1
We dedicate our first afternoon to the Rim Drive which is a great introduction to the park! The Rim Drive is a 33 mile road that goes around the entire rim of the caldera. There are over 30 pull outs and stops. We get started at the North Entrance and do the Rim Drive counter clockwise so we can end somewhere on the East side for sunset.
From our first stop we are immediately blown away by the sheer size of the lake. It is around 6 miles wide and is surrounded by steep rock walls that rise up to 2,000 feet above the lake's surface. It also is one of the most intense blue colors we have ever seen! All the water in the lake is from rain and snow melt. There are no inlets from other water sources which means no sediment or mineral deposits are carried into the lake, helping it maintain its rich color. It is one of the cleanest and clearest lakes in the world.
We make our way around the Rim Drive which gives us the chance to see the lake from every possible angle. We make stops at Pumice Point, Merriam Point, The Watchman Overlook, Phantom Ship Overlook, Victor View, and more!
We finally end the afternoon at the Cloudclap Overlook. This is the highest road access overlook in the park and is the perfect spot for sunset. It is very windy and cloudy so after we walk around a bit, we enjoy the sunset from the warmth of our car. :)
Day 2
We wake up early and hike up to Watchman Peak for sunrise. The Watchman Peak hike is under 1 mile each way and is less than 400 feet of elevation gain. This is the perfect vantage point for sunrise. There are 360 degree views of the lake with a mountain backdrop of Mount Scott and the surrounding landscape. It is perfectly calm and still which is such a contrast from sunset last night!
After the sun is up, we make our way back down to the car because there are a couple more short hikes we plan to do in the afternoon. Up next, we head to Garfield Peak. This is a 3.4 mile hike with a little over 1,000 feet of elevation gain. The top offers and amazing view point that is situated almost right on top of the lake.
After a quick picnic, we end the day and our time in Crater Lake National Park hiking up to Mount Scott. This is the highest peak in all of Crater Lake National Park. The hike is 4.2 miles with around 1,200 feet of elevation gain. Mount Scott is set a ways back from the lake and the summit offers a full panorama of the entire landscape of the park. It is the perfect way to end our time here!
From the Rim Drive to different overlooks to hiking to different vantage points, we have an amazing 2 days in Crater Lake National Park!
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The hike to Plaikni Falls is not to long or strenuous. Totally doable for most people. In June there were tons of wildflowers and butterflies near the base of the falls. My wife said it was a fairy garden!
What a contrast from sunset to sunrise! Spectacular and you’re beaming about the perfect sunrise with full moon behind you! 🧡
😍😍😍
Both times we have been there it was snowing....in July
Awesome views. The sunrise was one of a kind. I'm planning to visit Crater Lake during a 4 week pacific north-west roadtrip next summer and I can't wait for it.
Safe travels
We hope you have a great trip! Thanks for watching!
So beautiful Crater Lake!
Beautiful! 💙
The park is open all year and only closed because of the government shut down or some other event. The lodge closes in October and a lot of services are curtailed but it is still open. I live 40 miles from there so I go there frequently. You got to see this place in the winter with 20 feet of snow on the ground.
Great video! Can't wait to visit this place
Thanks so much!! ☺️
Thanks for the awesome video, I'm visiting this weekend and I learned so much from you
I guess if u have to choose between Garfield and mt scott to get the most breathtaking views then I would have to go for Garfield right? Another question where did u spend or stay the night ? I'm looking for lodging nearby , please advise if u can , thanks
So glad you liked the video! To answer your question on Mt. Scott vs Garfield, Garfield is definitely where you would want to go to get the views down onto the lake. Scott has impressive views but it is set pretty far back from the lake... so you get to see the whole crater but you don’t get that dramatic view down on the lake. When you are on Garfield, at the top you look straight down on the lake and for me that was more dramatic! Also we stayed in a hotel in La Pine so it was about an hour away... early morning for sunrise but 100% worth it!!!!
Super helpful video I found search for Crater Lake. Going for our first time in June. Where did you spending night? I would like to catch a sunrise and sunset like you did 🥰
Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed the video!! We stayed at a hotel in La Pine so it was a little over an hour to the entrance of the park each way. A lot of driving and a very early morning for sunrise but SO worth it!! Hope you enjoy your trip!!
@@WaypointofView thank you so much!!
a great film ! fantastic views 👍👍👍Wonderful area and nature shots! We
are happy to give it a thumbs up! If you like, take a look at us! Have a nice day !Up'n'Down-Traveling
Thanks so much for watching and the kind words! We'll definitely check you guys out! ☺️☺️