Oregon is known for many great landscapes from its magnificent coast to the Cascade Mountains, to the Willamette Valley, to the Columbia River Gorge, etc. But one of its most spectacular sights has to be Crater Lake.

Crater Lake, since 1902 part of Crater Lake National Park, serves as witness to the incredible story of earth’s forces at work. Mount Mazama, the original volcano on that site, blew up about 7,700 years ago. The top of the volcano collapsed inward after all the contents spewed out (non-technical terms!) and created a caldera that has filled up with water since then from rain and snow melt.

The lake is between 4.5-6 miles across and about 1,943 ft deep. It is considered the deepest lake in North America. And another bit of trivia: it holds almost 5 TRILLION gallons of water. Lots of H2O.

Though no streams flow out of this lake, the water level remains fairly constant because water does seep out or gets absorbed. The water has very little in terms of sediment flowing in (again, no streams feeding it) which helps give it its unique color. It is an intense, beautiful, entrancing blue.

Do the Crater Lake rim drive!

Today, one can drive all around the rim of the lake, a 33-mile drive, dotted with stopping points offerings great views all around the volcano’s caldera. Well, one can as long as it is between mid-October and June as the road closes the rest of the year due to snow… There are two entrances to the park, one approaching the park from the south via route 62, and another from the north.

We came in through the southern entrance which is where Park Headquarters and the Visitor Center are located. This southern shore of the lake hosts the Rim Village with an overlook, café, and Crater Lake Lodge (which was closed during my visit thanks to Covid).

Let me share with you the places I explored in my visit along this great drive and let you decide which offered the best views of this incredible lake. Hopefully these suggestions will help you plan your own visit!

Phantom Ship Overlook

We did the rim drive counterclockwise. Starting from the southern entrance in this direction, the first part of the drive is a long of windy road with no views of the lake for the most part but still a beautiful ride. Sometimes the curves do not have guardrails so mind your driving!

But soon, than changes and the rest of the rim drive is mostly just going around the edge of the crater. That means lots of great places to stop to admire the beauty of the lake and see it from another angle.

The first stop we made was at the Phantom Ship Overlook. There are a couple of stops you can make before this one (Sun Notch which offers a nice direct view down to Phantom Ship, and Dutton Cliff) but we decided to make Phantom Ship Overlook our first stop. Phantom Ship is a tiny island on the southern side of the lake – quite photogenic, especially with the trees on the edge of the lookout framing the view nicely.

After the Phantom Ship Overlook come a couple of small stops: Pumice Castle and Cloudcap Overlook (which looks straight due west onto Wizard Island in the opposite side of the lake). Nice, brief stops and – as usual – with views that do not disappoint.

Mt. Scott: The highest point at Crater Lake

There are a few mountains or peaks rising out of the area around the rim at Crater Lake. Mount Scott offers the tallest point around Crater Lake, and is a great hike taking you to 8,929 ft. The hike is about 4.5 miles round-trip.

Though steep (the elevation gain is 1,200 ft), it is a beautiful path and doable without gear (though I always carry my hiking pole to ensure my knee is not pounded too much!).

It is a neat hike and one gets rewarded with a nice short walk at the top with many spots for photo opps while making one’s way to the peak itself.

And the peak area is not a bad place to eat your lunch while soaking in the views!

Skell Head Overlook

After getting off Mt. Scott, a good stop to follow is the Skell Head Overlook.

Plenty of parking and space to – once again – soak the views of the lake and have some photos snapped (always better than a selfie!).

Cleetwood Cove Trail – swim in the lake!

For those wanting to jump in the water, there is only one spot where it is legal to jump into the lake. And it requires a steep 1.1-mile down hike (with the corresponding 1.1-mile steep hike back up…) so it may not be for everyone. If it is up for you, know that the elevation difference is 700 ft. This is what the hike looks like:

It is worth noting this is one of the best parking areas on this northern and eastern parts of the rim. Two structures at either end of the large parking lot offer restroom facilities though be ready for the basic type of restrooms… Plenty of parking for a busy August day so that certainly was well-thought out for this most popular stop on Crater Lake’s rim road.

Once down there, there is no sand beach. Just lots of rocks to climb over and then to walk on to get into the full water. There is one spot down there from where it is allowed to jump into the water and save the rock walking (well, you have to do those to get out of the water). I suggest wearing water shoes as the rocks under water can be slippery but you may feel safer with your naked feet.

In mid-August the water just completely freezing so not sure how it feels at the beginning or the end of the season, though I imagine it likely does not change much… I waited for my buddy to try the water before I went in. I sloooowly made my way in…

I went in but there was a strong current right by the rocks so I stayed in the water on the rocks. “Stayed” is a generous term equivalent to no more than 10 seconds. But I got my hair wet! Then, I laid back on those warm rocks to cool and dry off. Very nice!

Of course, the hike up was work but I didn’t carry much with me save water and a couple of other things in the small backpack.

Merriam Point

Merriam Point is a small stop as the rim drive continues. It is also the point at which the northern entrance to Crater Lake National Park hits the rim road. It is a good point to look southward toward Wizard Island, which will be much closer on the next stop on the route…

Watchman Overlook and Watchman Peak

A short drive south of Merriam Point is Watchman Overlook. Watchman Overlook is almost at the westernmost point of the lake and was our final stop that day on the Crater Lake rim drive.

Watchman Overlook offers a great vantage point to see the lake and Wizard Island. And, for those inclined to tackle a good incline, it also offers a hiking trail up to Watchman Peak.

It is a 0.8-mile walk up a steep path but the view is a very nice reward.

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After Watchman Overlook, had we had more time that day, we would have gone towards the lodge where a trail goes to the top of Garfield Peak which, at 8,054 ft, is just slightly taller than Watchman Peak. Garfield Peak is on the south edge of the lake so it would have offered a totally different vantage point so you may want to check it out. Of course, you don’t have to climb the peak to see the views north as the Rim Village would offer a similar view but just from rim level.

If you have not gathered yet, I thoroughly enjoyed Crater Lake National Park and all the views and activities that if offers. I have not visited many of our national parks but they are certainly a great treasure and I hope to be planning visits more often than I have before!