Stamped! Crater Lake National Park
We have left the sweltering heat of California and made it to the snowy lands of Oregon. All the days we were wishing for cooler weather, we didn’t expect to find ourselves needing our coats and trudging through snow!
After wrapping up our time in Yosemite, we made a pit stop in South Lake Tahoe for the night to meet up with friends. We ate delicious food from a restaurant called Freshies that overlooked Lake Tahoe and then went off-roading to catch some panoramic views of the area. Two weeks on the road has us salivating for good restaurant food!
We made a reservation at a local campground and called it a night. However, the next morning as we were packing up to get on the road, we were told by the campground staff that because we didn’t pitch a tent at our site, we weren’t allowed to stay. This is our second anti-van campground we’ve encountered in California! We aren’t sure what the deal is, but luckily we were already on our way out. We high-tailed it out of there and made our coffee on the road.
The following day, we arrived at Crater Lake National Park. Fun fact, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the US. We had read that this park will be closing for an extended period of time for maintenance/renovations, so we knew we needed to check it out.
Upon arriving, we were greeted with snow—lots of snow. Enough snow that the closest park entrance to us was still closed due to snow on the road. As we made our way into the park, we quickly realized that due to the weather, most of the park was still not open for the season—in June—which means that this park must have a very limited visiting window for non-snow-related activities. The rangers at the visitor center told us that basically all of the trails were closed due to snow; we could attempt to hike some if we brought/rented snow gear, but they still advised against most of them due to the melting snow. This left us with about a quarter of the scenic rim drive accessible for viewing.
Making the most of the situation, we jumped in Reggie and headed out on the roads to the next couple of open viewpoints—and all we could say was wow! Even though the park is small and is really just multiple viewpoints of Crater Lake (not being able to hike or go to Wizard Island due to the snow), it was still such an amazing view. The mountains, the icy blue water, the deep green trees—just a color palette of perfection.
After the roadside pull-offs, we headed into the small park village, went to the gift shop and store, and in the parking lot saw a car from Michigan—with a Ludington, Michigan frame! Andrew is from Ludington, and Erin lived in Ludington when they met, so it was wild to see this plate all the way out here in Oregon!
Well, friends, that is about all we can write about Crater Lake due to the closures and limited viewing—it was still a beautiful lake to see, and we are positive that open trails and roads would only make this park even better.
With an open afternoon, we took a note from the KOA brochure provided to us when we checked in to our campsite and followed the map to explore four nearby waterfalls. We honestly weren’t expecting much, but they turned out to be great hidden gems off the main road. The third waterfall we visited was our favorite, and it felt like we walked into a new world.
Outside of Crater Lake and chasing waterfalls, we spent time at our campsite. This one was really nice and was located next to a lake.
We are out of Oregon and into Washington for our next set of adventures, so check in next time to read all about what we stumble upon in Washington!
Your friends in travel,
Erin and Andrew