National Park Trekkers
Wizard Island on a calm morning, Crater Lake National Park
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Oregon. Established 1902.

Crater Lake

The deepest lake in the US, filling the collapsed caldera of an ancient volcano.

Wizard Island on a calm morning.Photo by Robert Gray on Unsplash
Hours
Open 24 hours; roads close seasonally
Entry
$30 per car
Reservations
Not required
Size
183,224 acres

Crater Lake Weather Now

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Crater Lake sits in the caldera left when Mount Mazama erupted and collapsed about 7,700 years ago. At 1,943 feet deep it is the deepest lake in the United States, filled almost entirely by rain and snow. No rivers flow in or out, which helps keep the water so clear and so intensely blue.

Most visitors explore from the rim, driving Rim Drive and stopping at overlooks and short trails. The park gets an average of about 42 feet of snow a year, so winter turns it into a snowshoe and ski destination. A log called the Old Man of the Lake has floated upright in the lake for more than a century.

The park and surrounding area

ProspectFort KlamathChiloquinUnion CreekCrater Lake
  • Park boundary
  • Other parks
  • Major highway
  • Road
  • Rivers and lakes
  • Town

Plan your trip

Best time to go
July through September, when all roads and trails are usually snow-free and the lake is often calm and clear.
How long to stay
One full day covers Rim Drive; two days lets you add longer hikes.
Getting there
Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport (MFR) is about 1.5 hours away and Klamath Falls (LMT) about 1 hour. Eugene (EUG) is about 2.5 hours and Portland (PDX) about 4.5 hours.
Wildlife
Look for Clark's nutcrackers, golden-mantled ground squirrels, chipmunks, black-tailed deer, and sometimes black bears or elk.

Plan and book

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Where to stay

Tours and activities

What to pack for Crater Lake

A first day, start to finish

  1. Steel Information Center
  2. Rim Village and Sinnott Memorial Overlook
  3. Watchman Peak
  4. Sun Notch and Phantom Ship view
  5. Sunset at Rim Village or Crater Lake Lodge

Don't miss

  • Rim DriveA 33-mile loop road around the caldera with more than 30 overlooks of the deep blue lake.
  • Watchman PeakA 1.6-mile round-trip climb to a fire lookout with a great view of Wizard Island, best at sunset.
  • Garfield PeakA 3.4-mile round-trip trail from Rim Village that climbs about 1,000 feet to wide views of the lake and Mount Shasta on clear days.
  • Sun Notch and Phantom ShipA short 0.8-mile loop to a viewpoint above Phantom Ship, a small rocky island that looks like a ghostly sailing ship.
  • Plaikni FallsAn easy 2-mile round-trip walk through old-growth forest to a waterfall fed by snowmelt.

Know before you go

Do

  • Bring layers; the rim sits above 7,000 feet and is cool even in summer.
  • Check road status before you go in spring and fall.
  • Fill your gas tank before arriving; Mazama Village gas is seasonal.

Don't

  • Plan on reaching the lake shore in 2026; Cleetwood Cove Trail is closed for construction and there are no boat tours.
  • Count on Rim Drive or the North Entrance from November through early summer.
  • Go past the rim fences; the caldera walls are steep and crumbly.

The park is open 24 hours a day, year-round, but Rim Drive and the North Entrance Road close with the first big snow or November 1, whichever comes first, and usually reopen in stages from June to mid-July. In winter the road from the south and west entrances to Rim Village stays plowed. Steel Information Center and the Rim Visitor Center keep seasonal hours.

Drive Rim Drive clockwise in the morning so the lake overlooks are on your side with the sun behind you.Trekker's tip