Crater Lake Trip

Linda and I spent two nights at Crater Lake Lodge last weekend. Even though it is only a two-hour drive from Bend, I hadn't been to the Park in 13 years and it is very easy to forget just how spectacular the lake is.

We had a corner room in the lodge with a great view of the lake from both windows. At left is a photo of the view from the front window of our room.

The last time I stayed there -- back in 1973 -- the lodge was in pretty bad shape, but the building was completely renovated in the early 90s and it is now a comfortable place to stay.

The photo at right was taken from the overlook located near the lodge. It is a 900-foot drop to the lake from there. No photo can really do justice to how blue the water is, but you kind of get the idea.

At left is a photo of Linda on the top of Watchman Overlook. It took a short hike to get up there, but the view was great (Watchman is about 2000 feet above the lake's surface).


Watchman, which is an historic fire lookout station, provides the Park's best view of Wizard Island (right).


If you live in the Northwest and have never visited Crater Lake, then do yourself a favor and go there. It is definitely worth seeing. I'll try to post more photos later.