Crater Lake National Park – Oregon’s Crown Jewel

We have never been to Crater Lake. We reserved sites at Mazama Village Campground the past two years and smoke and wildfires forced us to cancel both times. Amidst our farewell tour of the United States, smokey or not, we were going this year. Like the last two years, we made reservations about 9 months in advance. The time has arrived. And so has the smoke. It has become an annual event that half the state of Oregon is on fire during the hot, dry summer months. Some cry climate change. Some cry poor forest management. The truth probably lies somewhere in between. A week before our trip and the air quality consistently reached the Very Unhealthy and Hazardous levels. Great.

We said goodbye to Driftwood RV Park in Copalis Beach, WA. We lived there for about 2 1/2 months. We met some nice people. Sad to leave. Excited to explore new places. We cruised through Portland, stopping at The Hartzells for lunch and to catch-up. We stopped for the night at Schwarz Park near Cottage Grove, OR. A very nice Army Corp of Engineers campground. Hiked around the dam and Doreena Lake. No internet so we rode our bikes a few miles closer to town to pick up a signal. Checked the Crater Lake air quality. Good news – it was trending better. Let’s do this. Back on the road. We climbed, and climbed, and climbed up to nearly 6000 ft and finally reached Crater Lake National Park.

We camped in Mazama Village, the only campground inside the park. Beautiful, spacious campground with minimal alterations to the surrounding wilderness. With only an electric hookup and 32 gallons of fresh water, we were roughing it 🙂 Just kidding, but ensuring the water lasted for 5 nights definitely took some conservation techniques.

While the air quality was fine, the smoke still lingered a bit in the afternoons along the Rim of Crater Lake. Each subsequent day cleared up more and more. By the last couple of days, we experienced perfect views. Really amazing and feel grateful the smoke and weather cooperated.

We thoroughly explored the park. I love it that we did not feel rushed and were able to leisurely do the activities we wanted. The highlight for me was riding the entire Crater Lake Rim loop — both East and West Rim Drives. I enjoyed every mile, even the long hill climbs 🙂 36 miles of cycling bliss. Elevations ranging from 5600 to 7400 feet. The altitude definitely caused my heart rate to elevate which forced me to slow my pace a bit. No worries since I wanted to take my time and really enjoy all the views. An experience I will never forget.

We hiked alot in the park. I enjoyed the Annie Creek hike the most because the trailhead was at our campground. Probably one of the less visited trails because no views of Crater Lake, but the creek and meadows and pumice rock formations made it quite nice and serene.

As we rolled out of camp and one final drive along the rim before leaving Crater Lake National Park, I reminisced our stay in this wonderful place. Our National Parks are truly the biggest assets of our country. We can’t wait to explore more of them in the coming months of our RV Life journey.