(c) 1996 by Fred Flaxman
This article was originally published in Sacramento magazine, March 1992. Although it has been revised and updated, the prices quoted are those which were in effect when it was written.
When the first white explorers came to what is now Oregon, the indigenous people gave them a friendly and trusting welcome. But they kept one secret from them. They hid their knowledge of a lake in the area -- a very special lake: one which was so blue, so beautiful, so deep, so unusual, so remote, so high above the rest of the world with such magnificent views of the earth below, that those few who had cast their eyes on it considered it sacred.
The lake is still there. It is still as blue, beautiful, deep, unusual and high as it was when whites finally found it. But the invention of the automobile made it no longer so remote. And in 1902 the whites granted it their own form of sacred status: they declared it a national park, to be preserved forever for the enjoyment of everyone who took the effort to come to see it.
This gem of a national park is about as close to Sacramento as it is to any big city. You should find it without any problem. Just take I-5 north to Oregon, turn right on Highway 62 (Crater Lake Highway) in Medford, and drive until you get there.
What a beautiful drive it is, too -- past Mt. Lassen, Mt. Shasta, Mt. McLoughlin, Ashland, the Rogue River, the Rogue River Gorge and Natural Bridge, to name just a few of the high points.
If you drove straight through -- which would be a ridiculous thing to do -- you could leave Sacramento at 9 a.m. and arrive at Crater Lake by 5. A more enjoyable itinerary would be to stop in Ashland, just across the Oregon border, for a day or two, taking in this picturesque hill town's extraordinary theater, shops and park. Ashland is the home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival which, despite its name, offers contemporary plays and classics, as well as Shakespeare, in a multiplex of three theaters. The outdoor Elizabethan theater will open for the season in June, surrounded by a new $7,000,000 pavilion, designed to improve the acoustics.
The indoor theaters of the Tony-award-winning Festival start their season in February. By June all seats to all theaters may be sold out, so it pays to order your tickets early. The same advice should be followed for overnight accommodations, especially if you want to stay in one of Ashland's charming bed & breakfast inns. Some of these are booked up more than a year in advance.
Ashland is a couple of hours from Crater Lake. You may want to spend a night or two a bit closer. You can stay right on the rim of the lake at the rustic Crater Lake Lodge. It reopened after a complete rebuilding in 1995. Otherwise, the closest you can get to the lake is a group of duplex cabins near the Mazama Campground (from mid-May to mid-October). These are all the same price - $69.99 a night - but you can squeeze 4-5 people in each one. For reservations call the Crater Lake Lodge Company: 541-594-2511.
A little bit further away, but nicer, is the Union Creek Resort, right on Highway 62. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it was built on the same Crater Lake Trail the pioneers used to cross the Cascade Mountains. Union Creek is open all year long and is surrounded by the Rogue River National Forest. Non-smoking lodge rooms accommodating two start at $35; sleeping cabins at $40; and housekeeping cabins at $48. A minimum of two nights stay is required on holidays, must be pre-paid 30 days in advance, and there are no refunds. Still interested? Their number is 541-560-3339.
Right across the street from the Union Creek Resort is Beckie's Cafe, "famous across the country," according to a brochure, "for delicious pies and for serving home style cooking in a casual, family atmosphere for over 70 years." While the claim to national fame may be exaggerated, the rest is not, and Beckie's is a great place to stop for lunch on your way to Crater Lake.
You enter Crater Lake National Park quite some time before you come across Crater Lake itself and, when you do, it is one of the most pleasant surprises a traveler can experience. You've heard about the incredible, unique color of the water. You've seen pictures of it. But words and pictures fail to capture the three-dimensional beauty of what is, after all, a collapsed, flooded ex-volcano.
The former Mt. Mazama had severe internal problems some 6,850 years ago. She literally threw up her interior magma, and caved in. It must have been quite a scene for the few humans who were around at the time, since her final eruptions were 42 times greater than those of Mt. St. Helens in 1980. Ash from these eruptions still lie scattered over eight states and three Canadian provinces. In the park's Pumice Desert, the ash lies 50 feet deep.
When the 12,000-foot mountain emptied herself of her insides, a huge, six-mile-wide, bowl-shaped caldera was left. At first the caldera's floor was too hot to hold water, but renewed volcanism sealed it up, and, in time, it cooled off. Springs, snow and rain began to fill the caldera to its present level, 1,932 feet from top to bottom -- the deepest lake in the U.S. Now evaporation and seepage just about balance the rain and snow, and the depth varies by less than three feet from one year to the next.
Since no streams run into or out of the lake, a closed ecological system was created. There were no fish in this lake until they were introduced by humans. Of the six species added, only two remain -- rainbow trout and kokanee salmon. Fishing is permitted, and you can obtain regulations at the park's information center. But when you catch the last fish, that's it, forever, as the lake is no longer being stocked.
There are several ways to see Crater Lake. In winter you are limited to skis, snowmobiles or legs. The road around the rim of the caldera -- which, thankfully for those of us with poor memories, is called Rim Drive -- is usually closed by snow from mid-October to early July. Nevertheless, you can still drive from Highway 62 to Rim Village, and snow tubing and sledding are permitted on the unplowed roadways.
Parking is allowed only in the cleared parking lots, and you must obtain written permission to park overnight. Backcountry permits are required for overnight snow camping, if that's your cup of tea. And remember there is no gasoline available in the park from October through May. But if you want to experience a pristine national park, all clothed in white, dress warmly and you can almost have the place to yourself during the winter months.
During the summer you can drive entirely around the lake, and the biggest decision seems to be whether to go clockwise or counterclockwise. If you want to be nice to your driver, go counterclockwise. That way the lake views will always be on the driver's side. But you get to see the lake sooner if you go to the left when you reach Rim Drive. Many prefer this route aesthetically. Whichever way you go there are the same number of vista turnoffs, where you can stop, park, and enjoy the views. However, towed vehicles or trailers are not allowed on the east side of the lake.
The more time you have, the more you can enjoy the scenery. It's best to start your trip around the rim in the morning, bringing a picnic, and making frequent, unhurried stops. But you can come after a lunch at Beckie's and still spend a couple of hours driving around, concentrating on fewer vista points.
The views are very different as you go around. They include Wizard Island -- the volcano within a volcano -- the Phantom Ship, various formations on the cliffs of the caldera, and a wide variety of rolling hills, mountain peaks, and evergreen forests in the distance. Several of the stops are a chipmunk lover's heaven. They're all over the place and will literally eat out of your hands, though the National Park Service frowns on such interference with nature.
From July through early September you can go for a narrated boat tour of the lake, seeing it from a totally different angle. The trip takes almost two hours, including a stop at Wizard Island and a close-up look at Phantom Ship.
The guide we had on our last visit was a real entertainer. He was from the area and knew the lake from one end to the other. He was in love with his subject matter and an inspired lecturer. So it was no surprise to learn that teaching was his profession the rest of the year.
There is only one trail leading down the steep cliffs of the caldera to the lake -- the Cleetwood Trail -- so that's the only way to get to the boat landing. This is one of the most beautiful trails you'll ever take, with intriguing views through the trees of the lake as you take the switchbacks all the way down. The trail is only a little over a mile long, but you'll get your exercise for the day -- after all that driving -- by coming back up. I don't recommend doing this with a 30-pound sleeping baby in your arms, as I did. Especially if you're over 50.
Devote at least two days to Crater Lake and you can drive around it on one, boat around it the next. If one day is all you have, start early and take the boat trip first. The boats leave every hour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the summer, and you don't want to walk two miles down and up those cliffs if you're going to literally miss the boat. We were real worried about that prospect when we did this last Labor Day weekend at just before 4 p.m., but those boats hold 60 people, and, even on a holiday, there was room for everyone who braved it down the hill.
It's a good idea to bring water (which we forgot), since this part of Oregon is hot and dry during the summer and the well-walked trail is dusty. The boat tours cost $10 for adults, $5.50 for children. For more information call 541-594-2511.
Another way of seeing the Crater Lake area is by foot. Interpretive programs by park naturalists are offered daily at Sinnott Memorial and Mazama Campground. The visitor center at Rim Village is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily in season, where you can obtain trail maps. Also, Rim Village has daily history presentations. Snacks, meals, gifts and film are sold at the Rim Village Coffee Shop, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the winter, snow conditions permitting, with hours extended during the summer. In addition, a camper store sells groceries and limited supplies from June through September.
There is a Junior Ranger program for children 6 through 12, offered at 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. daily during the summer months. For more information, call the park at 541-594-2211.
Crater Lake became a national park in 1902 after 17 years of lobbying by William Gladstone Steel, who first learned about the lake when he was a Kansas schoolboy reading a newspaper he was using to wrap his lunch. If it hadn't been for him, who knows, there might be gambling casinos and high-rise hotels with Broadway musicals on the Crater Lake rim today, and a landing strip in the Pumice Desert. But Crater Lake isn't just a smaller, deeper Lake Tahoe, without the civilized amenities. It is a very special and unique environment. True, it's further from Sacramento than Tahoe, but it's a trip worth making at least once in your life.
Well, if you named any of the above... you're wrong.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which attracts more than 8 million tourists a year, ranks Numero Uno. Coming in a not-very-close second is Acadia National Park in Maine, with almost 5.5 million. The Grand Canyon is third (3.8 million), Yosemite fourth (3.1 million) and Yellowstone only fifth (2.8 million).
By comparison Crater Lake National Park is a well-kept secret. Only 516,948 people came to see this extraordinary sight in 1991, ranking the Crater 34th among the country's 50 national parks.
For more information on Crater Lake National Park, try:
The National Park Service Web Site
The U.S. Geological Survey Web Site