We left Coos Bay Friday morning (sept 6) and drove 200 miles to Prospect, OR. Ken deviated from our GPS charted route to avoid the smoke we could see in the distance. The drive was very scenic as we drove along on the tree lined, winding road. I have never seen so many curves and trees!
We experienced smoky conditions throughout the drive, but, when we arrived at the Crater Lake RV Park, it was a beautiful, clear, sunny day. The RV host told me they hadn’t had any smoke…I wondered where she had been hiding? After we checked in and had a short rest period, we decided it was time for our first glimpse of Crater Lake.
Crater lake National Park
The drive from our RV park to Crater Lake National Park was aproximately 30 minutes. Again, so many trees along the route. As we drove along it was evident that the forest had been thinned out. There were large piles of cut timber throughout the forested area. Seemed like a fire hazard to me! As we continued on the road, the trees lining the road seemed to form a tunnel. Very cool!
It was late afternoon when we arrived at the Crater Lake park gatehouse and it was already closed for the day. We were able to pass through the gate without showing our America the Beautiful Pass, but, we weren’t able to get a park map.That was a first for us! Our first stop inside the park….the national park sign for a quick photo!
It was a few miles before we reached Crater Lake. As we hopped out at the first viewpoint, we had a panoramic view of Crater Lake. It was so shockingly big and unbelievably blue that it didn’t seem real! We stopped at a few more overlooks and each view was spectacular! At each stop, it seemed so quiet as visitors took in the views.
Crater lake was created by the eruption of the 12,000 foot Mount Mazama, in 5700BC. A massive volcanic eruption caused the mountain to collapse after the magma chamber emptied tons of material over a wide area. A caldera was formed as the lava hardened the mountainsides. Rain and snow eventually filled the caldera creating the magnificent lake.
Rim Drive
Rim Drive is a 33 mile road that encircles Crater Lake. It is known as one of America’s most scenic by-ways. However, during our visit, sections of the road were closed due to road construction and hazardous conditions created by the Middle Fork Fire. To complicate further, the annual “Ride the Rim” bicycle event was scheduled for Saturday. We decided the park would be congested with bicycles so it would be a good day to experience the surrounding area.
Mill Creek Falls – Plunging 174’ into the Rogue River
The Mill Creek Falls is located near Prospect, Oregon, just a short drive south of Crater Lake. We hiked down a path to see this waterfall across a steep gorge.
Rogue River Gorge
The Rogue River has carved its way through ancient rock beds of lava flow. At the Rogue River Gorge Viewpoint we saw chutes and eddies of cascading water as the river moved through natural lava rock tunnels and bridges. It was so pretty!
In the gorge area we came across The LIving Stump -on the flat surface of the lava flow the trees live as a group rather than as individuals. In this area, the roots of Douglas firs have grown together providing each other with nutrients and water. Before the tree was cut, the roots of this tree had grafted onto those of a neighbor; because of this the stump continues to live.
Rabbit Ears
Following a map of must-see locations, we ended our second with a trip to Rabbit Ears. We really didn’t know what we were looking for…a place or thing? We were following a hand-drawn map with poor markings. That combined with non-existent road signs caused us to make a wrong turn and drive quite a distance in the wrong direction. We finally got turned around and found our way to Rabbit Ears…two huge volcanic outcrops rising 5,800 from the valley floor which look like rabbit ears. We stopped at a pullout and follwed a path into the trees to the base of the rocks.
After we got turned around and on the right road, we traveled 5+ miles UP on a narrow, gravel, washboard forest service road. Was it worth it? Seeing the rocks was worth it, but, we were glad when we were back on the blacktop road.
(video clip of the road we traveled)
Sunday was our last day and when we looked outside it was very smoky! We were pretty sure Crater Lake visibility would be diminished. We planned to spend a few hours driving the Rim Drive and shopping at the gift shops. When we arrived at the gatehouse, it was open and the park ranger confirmed that the visibility was not good. We took our map and drove into the park. We stopped at Discovery Point and could barely see the lake. I’m sure that there were many visitors in the park that were disappointed.
From Discover Point, we Walked to The Sinnott Memorial Observation Station.
We walked down a steep historic walkway with stairs ending at a small natural history museum and scenic viewpoint that sits on Victor Rock, 900 feet above the surface of Crater Lake and 7100 feet above sea level. The rustic stone and wood shelter is tucked into the side of the steep cliffs surrounding the lake. It would have been a great view on a clear day!
We made one more look-out stop. On our first day we had our picture taken at this viewpoint and we wanted to try and duplicate to show the difference. (on the first day, a nice young boy took our picutre, but, today we had to de a selfie.
Phantom Ship Overlook
The Phantom Ship is a small island-like rock formation located in the southern part of Crater Lake. The rock formation resembles a ghostly ship sailing across the deep blue waters of the lake. It looks small from the lookout, but, is actually the height of a 16 story-building.
Vidae Falls – a pretty roadside waterfall
Before returning to the RV park, we stopped for a late lunch at Beckies Cafe! Since 1926, Beckie’s Café has been serving delicious, home-style food and pies made fresh daily. It has an awesome location just minutes from Crater Lake National Park and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The food was delicious!
Our short trip to Crater Lake has been memorable…another place checked off of our bucket list! Crater Lake really is a place that needs to be seen and experienced in person!