Crater Lake National Park

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's there

• 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 on the lake, suspended for 2026, 2027 and 2028 while the only trail to the shore is rebuilt.

When to go

Summer, roughly July to September, when the snow finally clears and the full Rim Drive is open - the boats are not running in the summers of 2026 to 2028; the rim is buried under deep snow much of the year. It is one of the snowiest places in America.

Things to know

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; the one steep trail down to the water, at Cleetwood Cove, is closed for rebuilding through the summers of 2026 to 2028, and with it the boat tours and any access to the shore.

Nearby

The Oregon Cascades and Klamath Falls are the region; the Umpqua and Rogue rivers lie nearby.

Key facts