Destination Crater Lake!

Wizard Island

We left the dry and dusty camp of Trinity Lake for another dusty and green camp ground just North of Crater Lake.  But our goal was to explore and enjoy Crater Lake.  The last time we were here was over 12 years ago, when we circled the crater on motorcycles.  We weren't set up to enjoy the trails and other sites at that time.  We certainly came prepared this time.

The first day was more of an exploratory expedition to get the lay of the land and the roads.  A few pullouts, a few short jaunts up trails to the rim, and a brief visit to Rim village all whetted the desire to see what more could be viewed.

Water Falls 

Vidae
Falls

There are several waterfalls within the park, one right along the main road.  Vidae falls, while not the most impressive water fall we viewed this trip, it was still fun to see gushing water coming from the top of the hill.

The crown jewel for all waterfalls that we visited was Plaikni Falls.  Just a short drive down a side road (paved, no less), and a 2 mile easy hike brought us to a breath taking water fall. The wild flowers were beautiful.

Plaikni
Falls

A number of the trails are handicap accessible which is remarkable.  The one to Plaikni Falls meanders through the woods as a somewhat graveled trail.  We chuckled about someone being pushed along the trail when we happened upon a person in a motorized chair coming back to the trail head.  He made it up to the falls, which is a short climb.  The chair must have one powerful set of batteries!

Trails
There are a ton of trails within the park.  The two that we sought out were Watchman Tower and the Rim trail.

Watchman Tower is an old fire lookout built in 1932.  It is still used as for fire watch during the high fire season, although it was not manned when we arrived (and there were fires to the West clouding the view).  The beauty of walking to the top is the ability to look down into the cone on Wizard Island and the surrounding area.  It is a must see if you visit Crater Lake.



The Rim trail starts at Rim village and along the Crater's rim.  While not officially part of the Pacific Crest Trail, it does intersect and become part of the PCT at the beginning and the end of the official Rim Trail.  In addition, you will come across PCT hikers that are taking the "shortcut" through the park and enjoying the view along the way.

The Rim trail provides access to views not seen from the road or turnouts.  We enjoyed the stroll away from the hubbub of the crowds.  It also gave us the opportunity to leisurely view the various points of Wizard Island.  We didn't tread the entire trail but did mange to trek enough to be in awe of the clear blue waters.



Phantom Ship Lookout is a wonderful loop trail that overlooks a small island in Crater Lake.  The shape of the spires gives it the impression of a ghost ship, or so they say.  We enjoyed the calm water and reflection of the island.