Three hours South of Bend, OR is Crater Lake National Park. It ended up being below freezing in the park the day we visited, so we only stayed for the day. We didn’t even do any long hikes. It’s a really pretty park, but we felt it was small enough to be mostly seen in a day.
A couple of quick facts. What once was a tall volcano dome violently erupted and then collapsed in on itself forming a giant hole aka a crater. It wasn’t that long ago that it blew. Native Americans witnessed its formation 7,700 years ago when the violent eruption took place. Now, fed by rain and snow, it’s the deepest lake in the USA and perhaps the most pristine on earth.
The day we went was mostly cloudy and when it’s cloudy the lake is a dull gray color. We did get a little lucky when the clouds parted for a little bit after lunch so we could see how awesomely blue the water can get.
Here are our photos from the park!
Yikes! And this is as warm as it got.Laura loves old VW vans.🙂Have to walk up the hill to see the lake. Looks like it snowed.Yep! It snowed.There it is! You can see how dull the lake looks when there are clouds.Are you cold?
Cool cliffs.Tree covered in ice. That looks pretty sweet.
As cold as it was, the ice formations were pretty cool.
We’re not the only crazy people out in this weather. Let us remind you it is freezing, and its a Monday in October.Another cool ice-covered tree.
Ahh… The clouds are starting to part as we drive around the lake. The water is getting bluer!
What’s that?!Obviously used to humans.Made it to the South side of the park where ther is a cool observation deck. Then the clouds really parted!!
And it’s starting to turn gray again 🙁Another Volcano in the distance.Cool rock formations.
Stay blue a little longer.Back to the Northside. Remember that cliff. See how blue the water is now.Okay, we’re freezing! Time to go!Can’t leave without an entrance sign photo.Driving down to lower elevation. We went from 27 degrees to 54.
Quick Stop to see Tokotee Falls!
On our way to our campsite, we passed by several waterfalls. So, we decided to make a quick stop and check one out. Then we found this weird thing in the parking lot of the trail head.It’s beautiful. Its made of wood.It appears to be leaking.Seriously! What is this thing? It stretched for hundreds more feet into the woods.OOH! Sign! So, that’s what it’s for. Built in 1949. It just transports water from a nearby dam. Before we see the falls we might as well learn something about it.Along the trail. Mushrooms!Lichen!Pretty
Mushrooms!So many colors.Nice overlook.WOW! One of the prettiest waterfalls we’ve seen yet! We really like seeing how similar the rock formation around the fall is compared to Devil’s tower. We later learned these column like formations are caused by how the lava cooled.Hiking in the woods!That’s a funny looking tree.Oh Camrin 🙂Well, we were about to find a place to camp when we saw this sign. Crap! The area we were headed to is closed because of a recent fire. Glad we saw this sign instead of driving into potentially dangerous terrain.After some searching, we found a forest road that was open. All we could find was a pull off on the side of the road.We’re close to the road, but it ended up being a quiet night. Only saw one car drive by.Haha… caught Laura brushing her teeth. Time for bed!
Thanks for reading our blog! Up next…. The Oregon Coast!
Looks beautiful! I’m planning on visiting Crater Lake in the summer and I can’t wait!