Today was our last day in the Bend neighborhood. We have not been to Crater Lake since 1980 so we decided to give it a sniff today. It is about 80 miles down to the north entrance from our campsite at Bend/Sunriver. Another 15 or so miles withing the park and you arrive at your first glimpse of the Lake.
Back in 1980, when we looked a lot better, could breathe better and could see better, we drove up to Crater Lake with some friends of ours and the dog and fooled around in the parking lot of the visitor center which overlooks the Lake. We were young and dumb and we left quickly. Today we stayed much longer, hiked around a bit and found some great places to sit and admire Crater Lake which, like the name implies, is in the caldera of the ancient Mt. Mazama. The terrain surrounding the 5 mile-wide lake is stark rock steeply descending into the 2000 foot deep water. There is no exit like a creek or a river. Lake levels are maintained naturally with any excess running our through fissures in the crater walls. The crater rim rocks are all different colors. There is even a big section of obsidian left from one of the multiple flows from this massive volcano.
We do not remember a road running around the entire crater wall in 1980 but there is certainly a road around it now although some parts are a bit scary. We turned counterclockwise at the loop road and drove south down the west side of the crater, stopping at every pullout to admire the fabulous views. At the Watchman Overlook, Wizard Island, an enormous volcanic cone in the lake, becomes visible. A bit further south we pulled up in the parking lot for the visitor center, cafe, gift shop and Crater Lake Lodge which is a gorgeous old wood structure. All along the parking is a trail between the buildings and the deadly drop a couple thousand feet to the lake surface. The lake is brilliant blue but the rock surrounding it, due to the way it was deposited before Mt. Mazama exploded, is all different colors and textures. It is a spectacular place.
We finally left the visitor center area and continued south, then east, then north around the crater. There are amazing features of the lake, like the rock formation jutting from the lake called the Phantom Battleship, that are only visible if you take the very curvy East Rim Drive. The road on the terrifying cliff side of the road has many sunken grades that try to pitch your car into the abyss. However, if you take your time and drive slowly, the road is perfectly adequate and the overlooks accessible from the road are stunning. Portions of the rim road where the lake is not visible offer endless views of the surrounding volcano-covered terrain and Upper Klamath Lake near Klamath Falls 60 miles south. It took us about 4 hours to drive all the way around the lake despite it only being 6 miles across at the widest point.
We finished our loop about 5:30 and headed back to Bend/Sunriver, getting home not too much after 7:00. Today was an amazing drive and I can recommend it to all. Off to points south tomorrow.
We took a bunch of pictures as we drove around this gorgeous landmark. To see ’em, click here