Jack and Amy's 2016 Oregon Vacation
Day 4
Crater Lake National Park
Crater Lake National Park
Wednesday, August 31st, 2016
Crater Lake Panorama
Day 4 of our Oregon Vacation would be dedicated to exploring Crater Lake National Park!
Our plan was to drive the Rim Drive in a clockwise direction around the lake stopping at overlooks and doing a few hikes along they way.
Here are a few shots from various overlook areas near Rim Village and along the West Rim Drive.
view of Wizard Island at Crater Lake
Amy at Crater Lake
Crater Lake
Crater Lake
Me at Crater Lake
Wizard Island at Crater Lake
Crater Lake
My first hike of the day was along the Cleetwood Cove Trail. Almost every trail in the park stays at least 1,000 feet above the lake. The Cleetwood Cove Trail is the only safe and legal way to actually get down to the lake. Since I really wanted to dip my feet into Crater Lake this trail was on my must hike list!
The Cleetwood Cove Trailhead Sign
Crater Lake from the end of the Cleetwood Cove Trail
Crater Lake from the end of the Cleetwood Cove Trail
The Cleetwood Cove Trail is also a required hike if you want to take any of the Crater Lake boat tours. We elected to skip the boat tour since I would rater be hiking than sitting on a boat. Plus the boat provides absolutely no shade, and neither Amy or I like to spend that much time in the direct sun!
One of the Crater Lake Boat Tours
Next up would be the Mount Scott hike, the longest and most strenuous of the day. The 2.5 miles (5.0 mile round trip) Mount Scott Trail gains 1,200 feet of elevation on the way to the highest point inside Crater Lake National Park.
The Mount Scott Trail Sign
View from Near the Summit
Almost There!
View of Crater Lake from the Summit of Mount Scott
This guy was enjoying the summit as well
view from the Summit of Mount Scott
After my hike to Mount Scott, we continued on the Rim Drive stopping at a few more roadside overlooks.
Crater Lake
The Pumice Castle
Crater Lake
The next hike on my list was Plaikni Falls an easy mile long hike (two miles out and back) to a pretty little waterfall.
Plaikni Falls Trailhead Sign
Plaikni Falls
Plaikni Falls
Next up would be the 0.4 mile (0.8 mile out and back) hike to the Pinnacles Overlook. The Pinnacles are fossil fumaroles formed when volcanic gases rise through layers of volcanic ash, cementing the ash into solid rock.
The Pinnacles
My final hike inside Crater Lake National Park would be the Sun Point Loop, an easy mile long trail with several nice views of Crater Lake including a close up view of "The Phantom Ship"
Sun Notch Trailhead
view of Crater Lake from the Sun Notch Loop
Closeup view of The Phantom Ship
Our next stop was the roadside view of Vidae Falls. I didn't bother taking out the tripod for this one:
Vidae Falls
Vidae Falls
Since there are very limited places to each between Crater Lake and Prospect, OR we decided for an early dinner inside the park at the Annie Creek Restaurant in Mazama Village. The food was excellent and reasonably priced!
When we returned to the Katydid Ranch in Prospect, OR Amy was ready to relax with her book for the rest of the evening. But since there was still daylight remaining, I decided to check out Lost Creek Lake about 10 minutes from the ranch
Lost Creek Lake
After spending the day at Crater Lake, it would be hard for any lake to really make an impression, but Lost Creek Lake was rather pretty and had some interesting features.
Skeleton Tree Roots at Lost Creek Lake
The Lost Creek Lake Marina
The rest of the evening was spent hanging out at the ranch with Amy and the Horses!
A friendly horse at the Katydid Ranch
The Complete set of photos from Day 4 of our Oregon Vacation is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157670502930243
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