{"id":2715,"date":"2015-12-17T11:16:24","date_gmt":"2015-12-17T16:16:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/western-traveler.org\/wp\/?page_id=2715"},"modified":"2015-12-18T07:05:34","modified_gmt":"2015-12-18T12:05:34","slug":"crater-lake-national-park-oregon","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/western-traveler.org\/wp\/travel-log\/natural-areas\/crater-lake-national-park-oregon\/","title":{"rendered":"Crater Lake National Park, Oregon"},"content":{"rendered":"

We in the United States are blessed to\u00a0have countless beautiful places to visit.\u00a0 Many sites are no less than iconic in quality and notoriety; the Grand Canyon, Everglades, Zion, Arches and without question, Crater Lake National Park\u00a0in Oregon.<\/p>\n

\"Crater<\/a><\/p>\n

Truthfully, I never thought I’d get to see this one as it was just so far from my home in Kentucky.\u00a0 That all changed in 2015 when I got to visit my friends the Campbell’s who moved there a couple of years prior.\u00a0 On my first trip to Oregon we simply had <\/em><\/strong>to hit the Pacific Coast, but Crater Lake was absolutely on the “A” list of must future sites to see.<\/p>\n

The lake is an absolutely beautiful and stunning feature. Located in Klamath county about 80 miles northeast of Medford, it is the deepest lake in the US and the second deepest in North America.\u00a0 It was formed about 7,700 years ago with the collapse of the volcano Mount Mazama.\u00a0 The result, a five by six mile wide caldera, now known for it’s amazing depth and water clarity.\u00a0 The number of hues of blue and green you seen in the water is countless.\u00a0 The rim ranges from 7,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level and makes for some great photography and viewing.\u00a0 The deepest part of the lake has been measured at 1,949 feet.\u00a0 This varies somewhat based on the current weather conditions.<\/p>\n

\"Crater<\/a><\/p>\n

Mount Mazama (part of the Cascade Range Volcanic Arch) erupted between 6,000 and 8,000 years ago.\u00a0 Subsequent lava eruptions have left behind the features you see today.\u00a0 Debris fans can be seen today along the rim, evidence of ongoing erosion in modern times.<\/p>\n

\"Crater<\/a><\/p>\n

There are no rivers or streams that feed or leave the lake. It is replenished by rainfall and melted snow.\u00a0 The rate of water infusion is such that in just 250 years, every drop of water in the lake\u00a0is\u00a0completely replaced, staying ahead of evaporation.<\/p>\n

There are two islands in the lake, the first being Wizard which formed from a cinder cone that came into existence after Crater started filling with water. The second, named Phantom Ship (the smaller of the two) is home to seven species of trees as well as other plant life.\u00a0 While visiting Crater Lake we noticed one<\/strong> <\/em>extremely bright yellow-leafed tree on Wizard, and only one, a very strange site for sure.\u00a0 One interesting thing about our visit that day, it was without question the windiest place I’ve ever tried to photograph.\u00a0 Even standing on solid concrete sidewalks was difficult and climbing some of the gravel slopes to the rim was impossible for me.\u00a0 Jeff was able to make it up the slope, but as best as I can figure he’s half mountain goat anyway, lucky him.<\/p>\n

\"Crater<\/a><\/p>\n

Crater Lake’s climate is referred to as subalpine, high enough to be very cold and heavily affected by the Pacific ocean’s weather patterns leading to massive snowfall events averaging about 488 inches.\u00a0 You can still see snow in the Crater Lake area into July.<\/p>\n

\"Crater<\/a><\/p>\n

If you decide to visit Crater Lake, make sure to check out their very old and unique historic buildings.\u00a0 Their Visitor Center (or as Jeff calls it Visitor Information Center) is absolutely the smallest and most antiquated that I’ve seen in any NPS (National Park Service) area.\u00a0 That’s not to say it isn’t cool though, it totally “works” in this environment.\u00a0 One interesting side note to this; I didn’t see a single NPS employee in the building.\u00a0 It was all being run by their book store association and volunteers.<\/p>\n

The Crater Lake Lodge<\/a>,<\/a> erected in 1915 has catered to countless visitors from all over the world for over 100 years. The construction of the lodge began in 1909 and was an amazingly hard task to complete due to the rough terrain and the eight month long winter season, limiting the building season to just over three months per year.<\/p>\n

\"Crater<\/a><\/p>\n

In it’s earliest days the accommodations were considered substandard, but through a series of upgrades, the most significant occurring during the 1930s with help from the Civilian Conservation Corps, it’s appearance and appeal were greatly improved. Much effort was put into landscaping and parking lots to enhance the site for visitors.<\/p>\n

\"Crater<\/a><\/p>\n

The National Park Service acquired full ownership of the Lodge in 1967 and after much back and forth between the Park Service and the locals it was finally decided that they would keep as much of the original historic building as possible, despite it’s very poor structural integrity. After decades of evaluations and difficult decisions the Park Service began a complete rehabilitation project in 1991.\u00a0 In May of 1995 the Lodge reopened to the public, cost for the project; $15,000,000.<\/p>\n

Today’s visitor will still find this rustic and beautiful lodge worthy of spending time there. The Park Service did a beautiful job of recreating the feel of the original lodge from the 1920s.\u00a0 It’s made to withstand snow depths of up to 15 feet.\u00a0 Your view of Crater Lake and the surrounding Cascades is unparalleled from the Lodge.\u00a0 You can cruise around the beautiful landscaping, kick back on their lakeside deck, sit by the stone fireplace, step inside to enjoy the very historic and rustic look of the place and even grab a meal if you want to.\u00a0 Their restaurant<\/a> features a wide variety of delicious offerings, and at prices you can afford.<\/p>\n

\"Crater<\/a><\/p>\n

If you plan to visit be advised there are no lodges, gas stations or campgrounds open in the park from mid-October to May. Starting in May you’ll find a variety of options available for staying in the Park.<\/p>\n

\"Crater<\/a><\/p>\n

The part itself is open year round, though access in the winter can be difficult and limited. In the summertime you’ll find a variety of activities sure to please, including but not limited to: camping, hiking, photography, boat tours, Interpretative programs, swimming and fishing.\u00a0 In the winter you can take a Ranger-led snowshoe hike on the weekend or try your hand at some cross-country skiing.\u00a0 For more in-depth information on what you can do when, check out the Crater Lake NP website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you love amazing scenery and an atmosphere that can’t be beat, Crater Lake National Park is for you.\u00a0 With my visit, there’s one less item on my bucket list.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We in the United States are blessed to\u00a0have countless beautiful places to visit.\u00a0 Many sites are no less than iconic in quality and notoriety; the Grand Canyon, Everglades, Zion, Arches and without question, Crater Lake National Park\u00a0in Oregon. Truthfully, I never thought I’d get to see this one as it was just so far from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":42,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2715","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P3CUQl-HN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/western-traveler.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/western-traveler.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/western-traveler.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/western-traveler.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/western-traveler.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2715"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/western-traveler.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2715\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2719,"href":"http:\/\/western-traveler.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2715\/revisions\/2719"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/western-traveler.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/42"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/western-traveler.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}