5700 B.C. Mount Mazama was 12,000 feet tall at its peak. A dormant volcano erupts, creating the well-known Crater Lake. Mount Mazama’s elevation is now about 6000 feet up and is roughly 180,000 acres. The eruption of Mount Mazama catapulted enough ash and pumice to collapse the summit. Rain and snow melt accumulated in the caldera (a large depression formed…

Plan Ahead for Next Summer A boat tour on Crater Lake is an eye-opening experience. While the lake is postcard-pretty from a rim overlook, being on the lake and circling the caldera it sits in is always a revelation. It’s from the lake that its rugged, ragged walls are truly seen and appreciated. Even better is spending three hours on Wizard…

When someone at Crater Lake National Park says, “Take a hike!” it’s not some negative. At Crater Lake it’s good advice. Deciding where to hike can be challenging. If I’m asked where to take a hike, my answer is usually the hike I took most recently. Most of the favorites involve viewing the lake. While views from any of the…

There is no bad way to take the 33-mile-long Rim Drive around Crater Lake. Most people drive around the lake, stopping at overlooks at places like Discovery Point, The Watchman, North Junction, Cloudcap, Kerr Notch or, of course, Rim Village, for wow-inducing views of the lake. Over the years I’ve done my gawking while on the Crater Lake Trolley or,…

It often comes as a surprise, or shock, when visitors to Crater Lake National Park arrive in May, June and even July and learn that, sorry, Rim Drive around the lake is still closed by snow. And that’s the messages they’ll likely hear this late spring and early summer. After several years of relatively little snowfall, at least by Crater…