Five hours south of Portland lies the most vibrant-blue lake you’ve ever seen, framed by snow-capped jagged peaks and a neighboring sea of pointy pinnacles. Welcome to Crater Lake National Park!
If swimming in an ice-cold active volcano, boating on the deepest lake in America, and seeing the bluest water you’ve ever seen (seriously, it’s that blue), you’ll want to add Crater Lake to your Oregon bucket list.
As someone who has explored this beautiful National Park – on land and water – I am going to share everything you need to know to visit!
In this guide, I will share how to get to the park, when to go, where to stay, what to pack, the best things to do, and valuable know-before-you-go tips!
Complete Guide to Crater Lake National Park
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Quick Facts About Crater Lake
- Location: Oregon, USA
- Established: 1902
- Size: 183,224 acres
- Annual Visitors: 632,242 (2025)
- Fee: $30/vehicle in the summer, $20/vehicle in the winter, or FREE with an annual pass
- Visitor Centers: Rim Village, Steel
Getting to Crater Lake
Crater Lake is located in southern Oregon. The easiest way to get to the park is to fly into Portland International Airport, rent a car, and drive 5 hours south.
Once you’re in the park, you’ll need to drive or bike everywhere, since this park has no shuttle system.
The main road is called Rim Drive; it’s 33 miles and circles the entire lake. It takes roughly 2 hours to drive, assuming you’re stopping at overlooks. More time if you add hikes, of course.
Rim Drive is usually fully cleared and snow-free from July through October, though exact dates will vary year to year. It is completely closed in the winter, but parts will slowly reopen as the snow melts and crews plow in the spring.
Pinnacles Road, a spur road off Rim Drive that has some fun hikes, is usually open from late July through October.
Know Before You Go
Camping along the rim of Crater Lake is allowed in winter only. Check with the backcountry office to see where you can legally camp the rest of the year.
The Cleetwood Cove Trail and boat tours will be closed through 2028. Check the NPS website for updates.
Some roads and trails may be closed, even in the summer. Due to the park’s high elevation, Crater Lake receives a lot of snow, even into the middle of summer.
When to Visit Crater Lake
Mid-July through mid-September is the best time to visit Crater Lake National Park. During this (short) window, you’re pretty much guaranteed that most, if not all, of the park will be open.
Because while the park is technically open year-round, many roads, trails, and facilities are closed in the winter months and shoulder seasons.
We visited in mid-July, and one of the trails was still snow-covered (and closed), and the road to the Pinnacles viewpoint had just opened the day before our arrival.
PRO TIP: If you love snow and are prepared for limited resources, you might enjoy visiting in the winter. Why? Because camping is allowed along the rim of Crater Lake in winter only. That would be such a cool experience!
Where to Stay in Crater Lake
While reservations can be tough, I’d recommend staying inside the park if possible. You have two options for in-park lodging:
- Crater Lake Lodge – historic lakefront lodge just steps from Garfield Peak Trail, open seasonally
- The Cabins at Mazama Village – a mix of private cabins and rooms just steps from Annie Creek Canyon Trail, open seasonally.
…And two options for in-park camping:
- Mazama Campground – forested campground with quick access to Annie Creek Canyon, open seasonally.
- Lost Creek Campground – quiet tent-only campsites, just a few miles from the Pinnacles Overlook and Plaikni Falls, open seasonally.
We chose to backpack, which was really exciting! 95% of the park is designated wilderness, so there are many great backcountry campsites.
Since we backpacked in the summer, we weren’t permitted to camp along the rim, but thanks to one of the rangers, we found a great, quiet dispersed campsite along the Annie Creek Canyon Trail.
If you’re backpacking in the winter, you can camp along the rim of the lake!
Backcountry permits can be obtained for free and in person at the Ranger Station at Park Headquarters. Located just behind the Steel Visitor Center, the backcountry office’s business hours are 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM year-round.
If you can’t snag one of the in-park accommodations, and you don’t want to backpack, here are a few options to stay outside the park:
- Running Y Ranch Resort – over an hour from the park but close to Crater Lake Zipline
- Hilton Garden Inn Medford – 1.5 hours from the park but lots to do in town
- The Aspen Inn – close lodging to the park, only about 30 minutes outside of Crater Lake
What to Pack
Below are some of the things you’ll need for your adventures in Crater Lake:
- 10 essentials – Don’t hike without packing these items
- Day pack – To store all of your essentials
- Microspikes – Even for summer hikes, parts can still be icy
- Swimsuit – For lake swims at Cleetwood Cove
- Lightweight pack towel – For post-swims
- Tevas – These sandals are perfect for hiking and swimming
Best Things to Do in Crater Lake
From swimming and hiking to boat tours and scenic drives, here are the best things to do in Crater Lake!
Hike to Garfield Peak
Along this iconic 3.6-mile roundtrip trail located behind the Crater Lake Lodge, you will wind up and around steep, narrow switchbacks to the top of the nearly 8,000-foot crest, Garfield Peak.
The 1,010 feet of elevation won’t seem as strenuous as it appears on paper because your mind will stray from that brutal workout and instead focus on the broad views of the lake, valley, and peaks that materialize around every corner.
At the top of the peak – the end of the trail – you will be rewarded for all of that elevation gain with a panoramic perspective of the entire sapphire lake and the surrounding landscapes.
To understand the elevation at which you’ll be standing when you’re at the top, take a look at Phantom Ship Island, located on the right side of the above image. The island is 100,000 square feet, though it may appear to be no larger than a postage stamp from your vantage point. You’ll feel like you’re on top of the world!
Hike the Cleetwood Cove trail + Swim in the Lake
This trail is closed through 2028! Check the park website for updates.
The Cleetwood Cove trail is the gateway to the only legal, unguided swimming spot in Crater Lake.
The descent is steep; it drops 700 feet in just one mile through a series of sharp switchbacks, so don’t attempt the descent if you’re not prepared to make the journey back to the top. The majority of in-park search and rescue operations stem from this trail.
As you make your way to the bottom, the lake will slowly come into view. Once you’re at the lake level, you’ll glimpse the dock where the Wizard Island boat tours and shuttles take off. Continue to the left past the boat dock and navigate the rock scrambles until you find a spot where you’d like to swim, sunbathe, take photos, or simply enjoy a nice view of an active volcano.
Keep going past the crowds; the “beach area” is seemingly endless!
Even though the water is quite cold – water temps only reach about 55-60 degrees F in the summer – I’d strongly recommend at least dipping your toes in to say you were in an active volcano! If you’re feeling extra brave, consider plunging beneath the surface; the feeling will be exhilarating!
And to keep the water protected and pristine, there are no inflatables, kayaks, canoes, private boats, or any other recreational watercraft allowed on the lake.
Hike to Plaikni Falls
Veer from the crowded Rim Drive into a quieter section at the southeastern end of the park, Pinnacles. Up until the trail construction in 2011, very few knew that this waterfall existed. And to this day, it continues to be a fairly well-kept secret.
This short, mildly elevated, easy trail off Pinnacles Road winds one mile through an old-growth forest, leading hikers to a snowmelt-fed, 20-foot waterfall.
There is a small section with flat rocks at the end of the trail, ideal for setting your pack down, soaking in the spray, munching on a snack, and relishing the wildflower-framed falls.
Hike the Pinnacles Trail
At the southeast boundary of the park and the end of Pinnacles Road is a very mild but breathtaking trail, Pinnacles.
Crater Lake National Park, though known for its stunning sapphire caldera, also contains volcanic spires. These sand-colored pumice spires, known as pinnacles, rise up and fill a deep canyon carved by Wheeler Creek.
The 0.8-mile roundtrip trail meanders around the rim, granting you impressive views of the unique spires and deep forested canyon. Some compare these tall, sharp spires to Bryce Canyon’s hoodoos. Though there are fewer of them in Crater Lake, and they aren’t that brilliant shade of orange, Pinnacles is still worth the stop!
Hike to Watchman Peak
This 1.6-mile roundtrip trail right off the Rim Drive is quite popular in the late summer and early fall months. Since it is one of the shortest and easiest trails to a summit and a fire lookout on the lake, you won’t be alone.
The path snakes up to a summit with a two-story fire lookout and spectacular 360-degree views of the lake, Wizard Island, and surrounding peaks and valleys.
Travel the Rim Drive
The 33-mile Rim Drive is littered with a plethora of trails, scenic overlooks, rest stops, and picnic areas.
Allow two hours to circle the 33-mile Rim Drive that circumnavigates Crater Lake so that you can stop at all of the scenic overlooks and pull-offs to fully experience the park.
If you don’t have time to hike all of the trails along Rim Drive or pull off at all of the overlooks, here are the overlooks and short trails that I would recommend bringing to the top of your list.
- Watchman Overlook
- Phantom Ship Overlook
- Palisade Point
- Discovery Point
- Vidae Falls
- Rim Trail (even if it’s just a small section)
- Cleetwood Cove
Take a Guided Boat Tour Around the Lake
Crater Lake Hospitality offers daily cruises, tours, and shuttles around the lake and to Wizard Island in the summer.
Choose from a leisurely 2-hour cruise around the lake, a cruise around the perimeter of the lake with a visit to Wizard Island to swim, hike, and sightsee, or a shuttle straight to the island to swim, fish, and hike without the leisurely cruise.
NOTE: Since Cleetwood Cove Trail is closed through 2028, so are the boat tours.
Finish Planning Your Trip to Crater Lake
Make trip planning a breeze with the help of my guides!
- Cleetwood Cove Trail Guide – How to Swim in Crater Lake
- 8 Epic Things to Do at Crater Lake National Park
Discover Your Next Adventure
Where to next? I’ve got some suggestions!
- Columbia River Gorge Waterfalls Road Trip
- North Cascades National Park
- Olympic National Park
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
- Great Sand Dunes National Park
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