Another Walk in the Park: Crater Lake National Park

Mt. Mazama in central Oregon, one of the string of volcanoes that includes Mount St. Helens, has been dormant since about 5700 BC. During that last great explosion, so much ash and pumice were shot into the sky that the center of the mountain collapsed forming a massive caldera. Over the following centuries, rain and snow melt accumulated in the caldera to form an intensely blue lake. The rim of the caldera rises 2,000 feet above what we now call Crater Lake. The lake itself is 1,900 feet deep so the total depth of the caldera approaches 4,000 feet. Submarines exploring the depths have determined that, like Lake Yellowstone, there is hydrothermal venting on the lake bottom that continues to influence the character of the lake.

As a travel photographer (well, OK, that may be an overstatement of what I am), the difficulty is that mere photographs fail to capture the intensity of the scene. There are 25 pullouts along the 33-mile Rim Drive so you can see essentially the same thing from 360 degrees. Drive carefully. The road is narrow (no shoulders) and has numerous sharp curves. It is easy to get distracted by the scenery and pay less attention to driving than you should. Be especially alert for the hordes of bicyclists you may suddenly encounter around one of the curves,

Or, you might hike down to the lake shore to take a narrated boat tour that goes out to Wizard Island, named for its supposed resemblance to a sorcerer's hat. The island is actually a cinder cone rising 764 feet above the surface of the lake. The boat dock is a mile walk down into the caldera from the visitor center. It is a strenuous climb back out and that is the only way to make the trip. If you have any doubts at all about your strength, stamina, and cardiovascular health (especially at high elevation), perhaps you should be content with the views from Rim Drive. Shirley and I think you will probably be more than content with what the Rim has to offer.

The south and west entrances to the national park are open year round. The north entrance is usually closed by snow until mid-June and again by mid-October and the east side of Rim Drive may be closed until mid-July. Check the park website or call ahead before you go. And you do want to go.

Wizard Island

You can probably see everything you need to see from one of the pullouts like the one to the left in this photo. Even so, there is a lot to be said for climbing to a higher vantage point. There is a short spur road to Cloudcap, the Rim Drive's highest overlook at 7,960 feet.

The cone-shaped peaks on the horizon testify to the volcanic nature of the entire region.

Many people thought Shirley's sweatshirt was from that place in South Bend. Nope. Our girls went to Notre Dame Academy.

Clark's nutcracker

This is a pretty close representation of the cerulean blue of Crater Lake. Note that water usually reflects the color of the sky. In this case, you can see that the reflection is much more intense than the reflectee.