About Crater Lake

If you’ve ever seen photos of Crater Lake, you’ve surely noticed its intense blue color. But do you know why it’s that color, or how this incredibly beautiful lake came to be? Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States at 1,943 feet deep. Its vibrant blue color is attributed to its great depth, and also its purity. The lake is fed entirely by rain and snow. There are no inlets from other water sources, which helps it to stay as one of the cleanest and clearest lakes in the world. 

When looking at such enchanting, deep blue water, the natural next question is often: can you swim in Crater Lake? And lucky for you, the answer is yes! But there is only one place in the park where you can safely and legally get down to the lake shore to swim, and that is from the Cleetwood Cove Trail (read on for more about this awesome location and what to expect). 

So how was Crater Lake formed? Its creation is perhaps even more intriguing than its color. The lake formed approximately 7,700 years ago when Mount Mazama, a 12,000-foot-tall volcano, erupted and collapsed. The lake now sits in the belly of that dormant volcano, and the park boasts a number of fascinating volcanic features that can be observed by visitors today.

Where is Crater Lake?

Crater Lake National Park is located in southern Oregon, about 8 hours south of Seattle and a little more than 4 hours south of Portland. Bend is a great city to tack onto your visit, located just 1.5 hours northeast of Crater Lake, 3.5 hours southeast of Portland, and 6.5 hours southeast of Seattle.

When is the best time to visit Crater Lake and Bend?

While you can certainly enjoy some epic snow sports in Bend and snowshoe or ski at Crater Lake . . . the best time to do the outdoor activities we’re highlighting in this post is during the peak summer months of July, August, and September. If you decide to travel from Seattle to Crater Lake in the shoulder seasons of spring or fall, you should expect to encounter some limitations due to snow. In fact, Crater Lake is one of the snowiest places in the United States, receiving an annual average of 43 feet of snow per year.

If you’re considering visiting Crater Lake in the spring – this is a great resource for setting expectations, and this page will provide ongoing updates about current conditions and closures. We visited in late July, and the weather was absolutely perfect! 

How long should you spend at Crater Lake?

Something unique about Crater Lake National Park vs. other national parks you may have visited is that you really don’t need that much time there to feel like you’ve seen a lot. One or two days is enough to take in the sights around the lake from various viewpoints. If you really want to slow down and soak it in, or do numerous different hikes, you could allow three days. That being said, it is a bit of a haul driving down from Seattle, so if you’re able to pad the trip with some stops before and after, we recommend it! You’ll see in the itinerary below that that is what we did. We left on Friday afternoon and returned home on Tuesday, and felt like it was a really nice length of time for the full road trip from Seattle to Crater Lake and back. Although, if you have even more time, you could definitely find plenty more to do in the area, and we’ve included some additional suggestions at the end of this post that you’ll want to check out!

Getting to and around Crater Lake

In order to follow our itinerary, you will want to travel from Seattle to Crater Lake and Bend via car. A high-clearance SUV will be necessary if you plan to hike to No Name Lake and Broken Top Mountain. If you are unable or not interested in driving the entire way, you could consider one of these other options:

• Fly from Seattle to Medford, Oregon and rent a vehicle
• Take the Amtrak train and utilize the Crater Lake Trolley – more info here!

Camping near Crater Lake National Park

There are two developed campgrounds located within Crater Lake National Park, and they are only open in the summer:

• Mazama Campground – 214 sites (first-come, first-served in June / reservable in July, August, and September)
• Lost Creek Campground – 16 sites (all first-come, first-served)
• If you are interested in backcountry camping, you can find more information on permits here.

If these campgrounds are full, or you just prefer to stay outside the park, there are many other options in the surrounding area, including:

• Diamond Lake Campground (11 minutes to North Entrance) – This is where we stayed and enjoyed a beautiful view of the lake from our site. We also took our kayaks out for a paddle!
• Thielsen view campground (18 minutes to North Entrance)
• Thielsen Forest Camp (24 minutes to North Entrance) – Free! Only 5 sites, but frequently unused. 
• East Lemolo Campground (25 minutes to North Entrance)
• Toketee Lake Campground (32 minutes to North Entrance)
• Farewell Bend Campground (37 minutes to Rim Village Visitor Center)
• Union Creek Resort – cabins and lodge (37 minutes to Rim Village Visitor Center)
• Union Creek Campground – Rogue River (38 minutes to Rim Village Visitor Center)
• Natural Bridge Campground (41 minutes to Rim Village Visitor Center)
• Joseph H. Stewart Recreation Area (1 hour to Rim Village Visitor Center)

You can find some information about additional free camping options here!

Gear we love for this trip

This is in no way meant to be an exhaustive packing list for your trip from Seattle to Crater Lake, but we just wanted to share a few key pieces of gear that we love and think would be a great fit for this outing!

• Oru foldable kayaks (we have the Bay ST model) – These kayaks are easy to transport and store … perfect if you have a small vehicle or living space. We’ve had these for almost four years and have taken them on some really fun adventures, including a paddle on Diamond Lake.
• Tent – REI doesn’t appear to make our exact tent anymore, but this one looks very similar. It’s roomy and super easy to set up. Note that it is not an ultra-lite tent, but it is what we use on backpacking trips as well. It’s the only tent we own, and it’s served us well!
• Camping Chairs – We love these little chairs and take them everywhere! Perfect for sitting around the fire, or easy to strap on your backpack for comfort during backcountry trips. We’ve had them for several years and they’ve held up great.
• Hammock – Whether we’re visiting parks around home, car camping, or backpacking, we love having our hammock for ultimate relaxation (and lots of naps)! We have this similar option from Amazon and have been happy with it over the past several years, although REI offers the benefit of easy returns and member dividends. We loved taking in the view over Diamond Lake from our hammock on this trip!
• Day pack – A small day pack will be super helpful for the hikes on this trip, and it can hold a hydration reservoir so you’re sure to never run out of water.
• Camp stove or Jetboil – Since this trip is best suited for the summer months, you can expect conditions to be hotter and drier, which means there is a chance for wildfire risk and burn bans. Having a cooking device like this makes meal times super quick and easy! We have the MSR camp stove kit, which allows for more creativity with your meals, but we’ve used and loved the Jetboil, and would probably opt for that option next time since it’s so fast and compact.
• Bug spray – There were a ton of mosquitoes everywhere we went on this trip! Make sure you pack some high-quality bug spray.  
• Water cubes – These are really helpful for bringing extra water on overnight or longer road trips. Also great to ensure you have plenty of water to fully extinguish your campfires.

Please know that some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase, we will earn a small commission. We link these items because of their quality and our personal experience with the product, and not because of the commission we receive from your purchases. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.

Sample itinerary

Day One: Travel

To save on PTO, we opted to work a partial day and hit the road around 3 p.m. to kickoff our road trip from Seattle to Crater Lake. We drove roughly 3 hours and pit-stopped in Vancouver, WA for the night where we have a friend we were able to stay with. You could enjoy an evening in Portland instead, or just do the full drive in one push. 

If you do find yourself in Vancouver, WA, we enjoyed dinner at McMenamins on the Columbia. It had a gorgeous setting right beside the Columbia River with lots of outdoor seating and a walking path perfect for passing the time while you wait for a table. 

Day Two: Hike to No Name Lake and Spend the Evening in Bend

We got up bright and early and hit the road at 5:30 a.m. to make the drive from Vancouver, WA to the No Name Lake trailhead (4 hour drive). Although we LOVED this hike and it was one of the most beautiful turquoise lakes we’ve ever seen, we did encounter some issues. Read on if you’re considering including this in your itinerary. 

Intel about getting to the No Name Lake trailhead:

After the hike, we hobbled our way to our Airbnb in Bend. We stayed here and had a very nice experience at an affordable price point. Carolyn was the sweetest!

For dinner, we went to Baldy’s BBQ. I had the “BBQ Sundae” and would highly recommend it, especially after such a big hike. It worked out perfect because this was one of the spots recommended to us, and it just happened to be only a few blocks from where we were staying.

Day Three: Set Up Camp and Head to Crater Lake National Park

Still recovering from the day before, we slept in a little and didn’t leave our Airbnb until 10 a.m. We stopped for breakfast at The Village Baker thanks to a great recommendation from our Airbnb host, Carolyn.

We didn’t have a campsite reserved since this trip was somewhat last minute, so we headed to Diamond Lake Campground and hoped for the best. Luckily we didn’t have any trouble finding a spot, and actually got one right along the water with beautiful views. The campground is only 11 minutes from the Crater Lake National Park North Entrance, so it worked out perfectly!

We set up our tent and hammock (highly recommend this purchase if you don’t already have one – so relaxing!), and decided to go for a paddle with our Oru foldable kayaks we brought along. No kayaks are allowed on Crater Lake, so this was a nice alternative.

We headed to Crater Lake National Park around 3:30, and completed the Scenic Rim Drive, which goes all the way around the lake with 30 pull-off spots for awesome views. You can also opt to take a trolley if you prefer (be sure to check current status – there may be COVID-related closures).

We timed up our drive so we could enjoy sunset at Cloudcap Overlook, which is a scenic overlook at the end of the highest paved road in all of Oregon. We took food and had a picnic dinner up there, which was so nice!. Taking this opportunity to make another plug for bug spray! The mosquitoes were relentless pretty much everywhere we went on this trip, especially as the sun went down.

Day Four: Final Day at Crater Lake National Park and An Evening in Bend

We set our alarms for 3:20 a.m. so we’d have time to pack up camp and head back to the park for sunrise at Watchman Peak Tower. At 1.7 miles roundtrip and 400’ of elevation gain, the hike is short with a pretty constant uphill grade, but very manageable and worth it when you see the views out over the entire lake at the top! Thanks to our early start, we only saw two other people up there, and enjoyed a french press and freeze dried breakfast meal.  

After that, we drove over to the Cleetwood Cove trailhead and took a little car nap while we waited for the weather to warm up a bit. We hiked down the short and steep trail to the water’s edge, completely mesmerized by the breathtaking color as the shoreline came into view. The water was so beautiful – turquoise along the shore and then transitioning to a deep royal blue as it gets deeper.

This is the only spot in the entire park where you have shore access, and we can’t recommend it enough! We took camping chairs down with us and hung out for a few hours, swimming and sunbathing. We both jumped into the water . . . Shane’s much more impressive from an actual rock cliff, and mine pretty pathetic from a partially submerged rock (fear of heights + fear of water = no cliff jumping for me).

In normal years, you can also enjoy the water via a boat tour or shuttle to Wizard Island. (Be sure to check status due to COVID-related closures). Be sure to make reservations in advance. The boats were all booked up by the time we looked into it due to the last-minute nature of our trip, but I would definitely do this next time! 

Back in Bend for the evening, we decided to check out Deschutes Brewery and Bend Brewing Company, which were both great. At Deschutes we waited probably 20 min for a table on the patio, and Bend Brewing was not too busy and had a nice big outdoor yard area with Adirondack chairs, corn hole, etc. overlooking the river.

Day Five: Smith Rock State Park and Travel Home

For our final morning, we decided to grab breakfast at McKay Cottage per numerous recommendations. We enjoyed a table on the lawn and way too much delicious food.

We also decided to make a pit stop at Smith Rock State Park, which was really unique and beautiful! It was a great, quick visit. There are numerous trails of varying degrees of difficulty, so you could explore as long or as little as you’d like. Misery Ridge is a trail we’ve heard frequently recommended. We hung out for probably only 40 minutes and saw a decent amount before hitting the road for the long journey back to Seattle.

Additional suggestions for things to do

Whether you have extra time for your road trip from Seattle to Crater Lake, or you just want to customize some of the stops . . . here are some additional ideas to inspire your adventure!

• Floating and tubing on the Deschutes River in Bend
• Check out other hikes in Crater Lake National Park, such as the highly recommended Garfield Peak Trail, Mount Scott Trail, and Pinnacles Valley Trail
• Hike to Tumalo Falls
• Visit Newberry National Volcanic Monument
• Hike or drive up Pilot Butte in Bend
• Make your way along the Bend Ale Trail
• Drive along the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway
• And so much more! Check out Visit Bend and Travel Oregon for more recommendations.