By: Ryan
The truth is we didn't have that great a time in Crater Lake National Park. For sure, one big reason was that a group of wildfires in the region created a haze of smoke that obscured many of the best views. But also, the hiking just isn't that great, and hiking is how we like to best experience the parks.
The two main activities in Crater seem to be a) the drive around the crater rim, and b) taking a boat tour of the lake. Neither of these is really for us. First, we like to get out of the car and experience our parks up close and personal by hiking, as noted above. Second, organized tours (especially those that you have to pay $30 or more for) are rarely better than doing something on our own.
So we did a few hikes (the 6.5 mile hike to Crater Peak, which was 'meh' with no views of the lake, and the 2 mile hike to Discovery Point along the crater rim, which was nice but not spectacular). There really isn't much other hiking, except for the Pacific Crest Trail, which runs through the park.
Anyways, Crater Lake NP is beautiful and the water truly is a magnificent deep blue, but we just weren't enamored with it like we have been with the other parks of the Pacific Northwest like Olympic and Mt. Rainier.
The truth is we didn't have that great a time in Crater Lake National Park. For sure, one big reason was that a group of wildfires in the region created a haze of smoke that obscured many of the best views. But also, the hiking just isn't that great, and hiking is how we like to best experience the parks.
The two main activities in Crater seem to be a) the drive around the crater rim, and b) taking a boat tour of the lake. Neither of these is really for us. First, we like to get out of the car and experience our parks up close and personal by hiking, as noted above. Second, organized tours (especially those that you have to pay $30 or more for) are rarely better than doing something on our own.
So we did a few hikes (the 6.5 mile hike to Crater Peak, which was 'meh' with no views of the lake, and the 2 mile hike to Discovery Point along the crater rim, which was nice but not spectacular). There really isn't much other hiking, except for the Pacific Crest Trail, which runs through the park.
Anyways, Crater Lake NP is beautiful and the water truly is a magnificent deep blue, but we just weren't enamored with it like we have been with the other parks of the Pacific Northwest like Olympic and Mt. Rainier.
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