Monday, May 29th – Friday, June 2nd
After spending seven weeks in California, we finally crossed the border into Oregon. On the coastal drive out of northern California, the views still included redwood trees in the forest and rocky coastal waters. The weather was still rainy and foggy. We were ready to leave behind the gloom and fog. We headed back eastward toward Crater Lake.
The first Oregon destination was in the Crater Lake National
Park area. We camped at an RV park that is about 20 miles from Crater Lake.
This RV park lies inside the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, near the
small mountain town of Prospect. This little town was once a prosperous gold
mining area. The local people were very friendly and helpful.
The forest was filled with many hiking trails, with
overlooks of the Rogue River and waterfalls. There were even trails right out
of the RV park that we enjoyed. The premier trails were those that followed the
Rogue River. This is another raging river that is filled with the record
snowmelt. It’s so amazing to see the power of the water flow in the river. The
trails included a gorge lookout from the highway bridge, Avenue of Giant
Boulders, Mill Creek Falls, Barr Creek Falls, and various Rogue Gorge
viewpoints from short hikes. There were so many places and not enough time.
We visited Crater Lake National Park for one day. We took
the dogs with us as we didn’t want to leave them alone for too many hours.
Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States at 1943’ and was created
by volcanic activity. The lake is in a caldera created 7700 years ago when the Mt.
Mazama volcano collapsed following a major eruption. Later eruptions created Wizard
Island within the lake. Crater Lake is also part of the Cascades Volcanic Arc,
which stretches from Lassen Volcano in northern California, to Oregon’s Mt.
Hood and Mt. Jefferson, Washington’s Mt. Saint Helens and Mt. Rainier, and
others up into Canada.
When we visited, there was still so much snow on the ground
and only about one eight of the rim road was open. They were just beginning to
plow the remainder of the rim road. We were able to go to the Visitor Center
for information, drive to the Rim Village, and visit the Rim Lodge (where we
had our lunch with a lake view). The only hiking trail open was the Discovery
Point trail on the southwest side; even though this part of the road was
plowed, hikers had to walk on the road about a mile to get to the trailhead. The
good thing about this visit was that it was not crowded; however, since the
access was so limited it was disappointing to not be able to drive the complete
rim road and do some hikes. We were lucky that the weather was sunny and there
was not fog on the lake, which is common this time of year. It was still an
amazing visit and the views were spectacular. I think it is better to visit
later in summer when there is no snow!
Our Oregon adventures continue!
Interesting information about Crater Lake and the pictures are gorgeous. Another destination now on my bucket list.
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