We visited Crater Lake National Park on our previous visit two years ago. It was early June, and the east side of the Rim Drive was still closed. On the west side the snow was still piled up along the road and the edges of the caldera, and the clouds overhead made it difficult to see the blue of the lake.
We got up early and set out on the two and a half hour drive to the park, mostly along Hwy 138, part of the Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway. It traces the route of the North Umpqua River. The road winds about as it ascends from Roseburg on I-5 into the Cascades and goes to Diamond Lake and the north entrance road to Crater Lake National Park. We got to the north entrance around 10:30 a.m., with plans to eat lunch at the lodge and go on a 2:00 p.m. ranger led hike up to Garfield Peak.
What a difference a month can make! By mid-July nearly all the snow had melted, with only a few patches remaining here and there. The day was clear, and the lake spectacular. We drove south clockwise around the east side of the lake, since we had driven the west side in 2012. We stopped at several of the overlooks, and each offered a bit of a different perspective.
We got to the Crater Lake Lodge in Rim City just in time to eat lunch, some really tasty fish and chips. At 2:00 p.m. we met Ranger Sarah and gathered for the hike. There were only four of us, so we were able to stop along the way for some information about the geology and history of this amazing lake.
By the time we got back to the lodge, it was too late to go to the Steel Visitor Center to see the award-winning orientation film, so we decided to return along the east Rim Drive so we could go see the Pinnacles, really unusual formations.
We stopped at a "picnic area" called out on the map. It turned out to have one picnic table, where we could sit and eat our packed supper with at least some view of the lake through the trees. Our drive home was mostly in the dark. We had a great day, but a tiring one, and we were glad to be home.
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