Crater Lake

My parents came out to visit and instead of trapping them in my house with home projects we decided to go camping. We took a three day camping trip to visit Crater Lake. 

Crater Lake is a must see. The clarity of the deep blue water is breathtaking. It is the deepest lake in the U.S and the third deepest in the world. It's worth the hype. 

​Day One
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After packing the minivan to the rim, we set out to see a few waterfalls on the way to our campground. Our first stop was Toketee Falls. This hike is 0.4 miles to a treehouse like platform overlooking the two tiered Toketee Falls.  After enjoying this falls, we then headed 5 minutes further down the road to Watson Falls. This one mile hike took us to the base of an outstanding 293 foot drop waterfall. We then hopped back in the car to drive 7 minutes  to Whitehorse Falls and then another 10 minutes to Clearwater Falls. After having to hike to the first two falls it was nice to have the last two falls viewable from the parking area. All four falls along the Umpqua River are worth the stop.

Our total trip that day started at 9:30am from Salem and ended at 3:30pm at our campground. Here is our Google Maps travel itinerary for our first day. Stopping at the falls broke up the trip well. After the last waterfall we were just 20 minutes from Diamond Lake and our camp at Broken Arrow Campground.

​After setting up camp, we explored the area before roasting hot dogs and s'mores. 

Day Two
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At around 9am, after finishing up our blueberry pancakes and sausages, we left camp for Crater Lake. From out camp it was a 20 minute drive to Merriam Point, which is the first view of Crater Lake if coming from the North Entrance.  We continued our drive to Rim Village where the Sinnott Memorial Overlook. This overlook provides a lot of historical information about the lake. There is also a visitors center with maps and park information. On our drive around the Lake we stopped at Vidae Falls, the Pinnacles Overlook, and Pumice Castle Overlook. The Pinnacles Overlook was my person favorite. The volcanic spires that reached heights of 100 feet tall were fascinating to look at. We finished our day off by hiking the Cleetwood Cove Trail. This is a strenuous 2.2 mile hike down to the lake shore. At the bottom we cliff jumped and relaxed with our feet in the water before making the steep hike back. ​
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​Here is our Google Maps travel itinerary for our second day. 

Toketee Falls

Watson Falls

Whitehorse Falls

Crater Lake from the shore

The Pinnacles

Vidae Falls

Cliff Jumping

Cleetwood Cove Trailhead

Day Three
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Our last day of camping we relaxed at Diamond Lake Resort. We  did a little bit of swimming and mostly laid in the sun before heading home. Bikes, paddle and fishing boats, and other equipment are available for rent at the resort. 

This was a great camping trip and we made so many great memories.  We are really looking forward to my parents move out to the PNW later this year so we can go on even more adventures with them.