Best Hikes at Crater Lake National Park

My wife and I spent a day exploring Crater Lake National Park. From the magnificent viewpoints of the lake, to hiking through the dense forest, Crater Lake has hikes for just about any level of hiker. Here’s a rundown of the best hiking trails at Crater Lake National Park in Oregon.

Tips to Help You Plan Your Visit

Crater Lake National Park is high in the mountains. We entered from the south and the winding roads would likely have made my son car sick. Although that may be due to my driving – not the roads. Haha!

Here are a few words of advice I would offer to those planning to visit this amazing national park in Oregon.

• Get a full tank of gas before you head up to the lake. There is a seasonal gas station at Mazama Village Store, but that’s it.
• Bring a jacket. The higher elevation and a slight breeze can make it chilly, even in July.
• Expect snow. We visited in July and snow covered a few of the trails. As a result, the park had them closed.
• Wear a hat or sunscreen. While it may seem chilly, the higher elevations make you more prone to sunburns.
• Bring water with you. Again, it may seem chilly, but water will keep you from getting dehydrated on some of the more strenuous trails – or hydrated in general.

Cleetwood Cove

Cleetwood Cove is my favorite trail at Crater Lake National Park. It’s a popular trail, even though it’s listed as strenuous. The 2.2-mile round trip hike may be only 1.1 mile down the 700 feet to the shore of Crater Lake, but it can feel like 10 miles on the hike back up.

The Cleetwood Cove trail is the only legal access point to the water in the lake. We were surprised at the bottom to see people in swimsuits or sporting a fishing pole. The water temperature ranges from low 30s to mid 60s. A ranger told us the temperature was 52 degrees during our visit. But that didn’t stop people from cliff jumping, wading or going for a little swim. Brrrr! My feet were cold after wading into the water for a moment to take some underwater photos.

RELATED ARTICLES: Learn more about other national parks

Cleedwood Cove also provides you access to boat tours of the lake. You can take the boat tour over to the island and hike up it. However, the boat tours weren’t running during our visit – probably because of COVID-19. But it’s something we’ll want to do in the future.

DISTANCE: 2.2 miles round trip
TIME: 1-2 hours (depending on how long you want to spent on the shore)
CATEGORY: Strenuous (steep, but well maintained)

Plaikni Falls

Plaikni Falls was one of the trails I had on my list. I really wanted to hike it and see the water fall. However, it was closed during our visit for trail maintenance. But based on what I’ve seen online, the waterfall is worth hiking to.

Plaikni Falls is located on the east side of Crater Lake, beyond the trailhead to Sun Notch. If waterfalls are what you’re looking for, Videa Falls is along the roadway (no hiking required). Heading counter-clockwise, you’ll reach Videa Falls before you arrive at Sun Notch trailhead.

DISTANCE: 2 miles round trip
TIME: 60 minutes
CATEGORY: Easy

Discovery Trail / Rim Trail

There are many access points to hike the rim trail. You can access it from the Rim Village, or at a few points along the roadway on the south and east side of the park.

We stopped at Discovery Trail and started with the trail heading clockwise around the crater. The trail offered the best, unobstructed views of the magnitude of Crater Lake. The panoramic photo at the top of this article was taken with my iPhone along this trail. It’s definitely worth taking, and you can hike it all the way to The Watchman trailhead further around the lake.

After returning back to the parking area, we continued on the rim trail toward Discovery Point. There were still some great views, but the enormity of Crater Lake was obstructed by rock outcroppings and trees. However, it’s a great, easy trail along the rim. We turned around when we reached Rim Village.

DISTANCE: Discovery Point hike is 2.2 miles roundtrip. The Rim has varying distances depending on where you start and stop.
TIME: 1 hour
CATEGORY: Easy/moderate

Sun Notch Trail at Crater Lake

When we were in the gift shop at Rim Village, we saw something about Phantom Rock. We had no clue what that was. However, when we reached the top of the short Sun Notch Trail, we spotted it. It looks like a pirate ship rising from the water below. It was a pretty neat site to see.

The trail is pretty short, and is something younger kids would probably enjoy.

DISTANCE: 0.5 mile loop
TIME: 30 minutes
CATEGORY: Moderate

The Watchman Trail

Watchman Trail was another trail on my “Must Hike” list as I was planning our visit to Crater Lake National Park. However, even in early July, there was snow covering the trail along a steep portion of the trail. Therefore, it was closed to hiking. I was sad to not be able to hike it, but it makes sense to close the trail from what we could see of the trail conditions.

The trail climbs up around a peak to provide a great view of Crater Lake. If you plan to hike this trail, you may need to come in late-July or August if you want the snow to be gone. But even then, I’ve heard the snow can linger for a while.

DISTANCE: 1.6 mile round trip
TIME: 1-2 hours
CATEGORY: Moderate

Castle Crest Wildflower Garden Trail

Young kids will love this trail. If you catch it at the right time of year, you’ll find yourself in a wildflower garden. The flowers bloom in July-August. But if you’re visiting the park outside of blooming season, the kids will likely still love the trail.

Castle Crest Wildflower Garden Trail is a short loop, with three bridge crossings and some stone paths. The green foliage covers each side of the path, with small streams of water flowing around the rocks. It’s beautiful.

DISTANCE: 0.4 mile loop
TIME: 30 minutes
CATEGORY: Easy

Lady of the Woods Trail

There was one element along this interpretive trail that I thought was neat. Several years ago, a staff member of the park, who lived in the residences at Park Headquarters (where this trail is located) carved a lady into a large rock. That gave the trail its name.

However, the rest of the interpretive trail is all about the buildings around the park headquarters – the dining hall for staff, residence buildings and the superintendent’s home. We grabbed the booklet at the start of the trail (which is to the left of the Visitor Center building – we had a hard time finding it) and my wife read the information as we walked. It’s a nice short hike through the woods, but other than the rock carving, it wasn’t anything special.

DISTANCE: 0.3 mile loop
TIME: 30 minutes
CATEGORY: Easy

The Details

Parking: Parking is available at all trailheads. However, during the busy season, parking lots may fill up. Do NOT park illegally.

Cost: cars are $30 in the summer (May 22-Oct 31) and $20 in the winter. Motorcycles are $25/$15, and individuals are $15 (hiker, cyclist, etc.). The pass is valid for 7 days, or you can purchase an annual parks pass for $80 and get 12 months of access to all the national parks.

Hours: The Park is open year round, 24 hours a day. However, certain areas/roads of the park are closed seasonally based on conditions. Visit their website before your trip to know what’s open and what’s not.

Website: https://www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm

Phone: (435) 834-5322

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