Two hours south of Bend, OR lies Oregon’s only National Park – Crater Lake. At just under 2,000 ft deep, it’s the deepest lake in the United States. Today it made our hit list. We’re taking a day trip to go explore.
It’s a little strange to be in a place that is both hot and yet also has snow in July. At an elevation of 6,000+ feet, an 80 degree day becomes a 70 degree day up here. When the wind kicks up its almost cold, and when it dies down, you’re back to being hot. There seems to be no middle ground today.
We start with our longest and hardest hike of the day – Garfield Peak Trail
Hike Stats
Time: 2-3 hours
Difficulty: Moderate
Max Elevation: 7,976 ft
Crater Lake Lodge
Garfield Peak
View From Garfield Peak
Next up is the Cleatwood Cove Trail. This popular crater rim to lake trail is the only way to access the lake in the entire park – so of course we’re doing it!
Hike Stats
Time: 1-2 hours
Difficulty: Moderate
Max Grade: 11 %
The trail ends at some rocky cliffs. You can either turn around and head back, OR…
This super crappy 3rd person video makes it look like it was nothing (I was too preoccupied with jumping off a 20 foot cliff into unknown icy waters to concern myself with making a cool video – now a regret). Trust me, the jump was a little intimidating.
The water is so cold it initially takes your breath away. Afterwards, we were both so glad we did it. It was the highlight of the day! The very steep mile hike back up to the rim – not so much.
Driving Around The Rim
Phantom Ship (Island)
Wizard Island
We spent the day exploring Crater Lake. We hiked above it, drove around it, and jumped into it. I think our work here is done. What an awesome day!