Crater Lake National Park
The deepest lake in the United States - an impossibly blue circle of water filling the collapsed caldera of a volcano in Oregon.
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Illustrative image - a scene in the spirit of the place, not a photograph of it. Real photos are below.
Crater Lake fills the collapsed caldera of an ancient volcano in southern Oregon, and at nearly six hundred metres it is the deepest lake in the United States. Fed only by rain and snow, with no rivers in or out, it is astonishingly pure and an intense, luminous blue, ringed by cliffs and crowned by the cinder cone of Wizard Island.
What you actually see
- The lake and Rim Drive - the impossibly blue caldera lake and the road around it.
- Wizard Island - the cinder cone rising from the water.
- The rim viewpoints - the overlooks and the historic Crater Lake Lodge.
- The boat tour - the summer boat trips down onto the lake.
When to go
Summer, roughly July to September, when the snow finally clears and the full Rim Drive and boats are open; the rim is buried under deep snow much of the year. It is one of the snowiest places in America.
Honest expectations
The season is genuinely short, since heavy snow closes much of the park for many months, so summer access is limited to a window. It is remote in southern Oregon, a real drive. The lake is mostly admired from the rim, with only a steep trail down to the water and the boats.
Nearby
The Oregon Cascades and Klamath Falls are the region; the Umpqua and Rogue rivers lie nearby.
What to pack for Crater Lake National Park
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
