Crater Lake National Park

After we left Portland our plan was to go straight to San Francisco but on the way we saw signs for Crater Lake National Park which we heard from a few people that it was just amazing.  So we decided to take a detour to see the lake.  The detour ended up taking us a lot longer than we had expected because we didn’t take the main road and had taken smaller roads that wind through the Umpqua National Forest.  We camped out one night in the forest before taking the small dirt road winding through the mountains.   We stopped along the road to see Toketee Falls in the Umqua National Forest.  The falls were awesome and the hike out there was beautiful.

We finally arrived at the park and the first view we had of the lake was just breathe taking since it was a beautiful day. 

Here you can see Wizard Island.  It is possible to even take a ferry out to the island but these weren't running the day we were visiting due to the weather.

The lake was created from a giant volcano that erupted thousands of years ago taking out two giant mountain peaks that crumbled under ground leaving behind a giant crater almost 2000 feet deep.  This filled with water and snow over the years to create Crater Lake.  The lake is one of the most purist bodies of water in the world and is known for its dark blue color that comes from its depth and clarity.  We took the road that winds around the rim of the crater before setting up camp in the nearby park campground.  That night we went to a ranger program that talks about the constellations above Crater Lake.  The next day we packed up camp and headed out to do a trail that climbs to Beaver Peak overlooking Crater Lake.  The hike was quite the climb but it was definitely worth the view!

The little spec of an island in the picture is known as Phantom Ship.