SNOWSHOEING TO CRATER LAKE, OREGON, Guest Post by Caroline Hatton at The Intrepid Tourist

Crater Lake, Oregon. Wizard Island, in the middle, is a volcanic cinder cone.

My friend and fellow children’s book author Caroline Hatton, a frequent contributor to The Intrepid Tourist, visited Crater Lake in January 2022 and took the photos for this post.

The white Fairfield Inn & Suites on half-frozen Lake Ewauna, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

We had seen Crater Lake many decades ago on a clear summer day. The water was impossibly blue because it was so clear, all the way down to the bottom of the deepest lake in the United States (1,943 ft/~592 m). As in every wild spot I like, I had wanted to come back, especially in different seasons.  

In early January 2022 my husband and I went to the city of Klamath Falls, Oregon, an hour-and-fifteen-minute drive away from Crater Lake National Park, and stayed overnight. When we woke up the next morning, we wondered if the weather and road conditions, following a recent snowstorm over the holidays and more snowfalls until the day before, would allow us to see the lake from the crater rim (elevation 7,100 feet/~2164 meters).

Dawn on half-frozen Lake Ewauna, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

That morning the weather was forecast to be sunny. The Crater Lake National Park website (at the above link) confirmed that the park and its road to the Visitor Center were open, even though the center was closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. From there, the road up to the rim of the dormant volcano crater was closed, but the Raven Trail should allow snowshoers and cross-country skiers to climb to the edge.

Crater Lake National Park, inside the South Entrance.

As we drove toward the park South Entrance, the only one open in winter, the road became increasingly snowy. By mid-morning, when we arrived, the outside temperature at the entrance had gone up to 23 degrees F (~ -5 degrees C). The ranger told us where to find the only two open restrooms on that day—nearby, not at the Visitor Center or on the rim.

Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis) and his loot.

Outside the closed Visitor Center, a ranger greeted and directed drivers in order to fit in more parked cars. Greeting visitors as well were the feathered members of the staff cleanup crew, diligently inspecting car interiors, making sure no food crumb shall be left behind. They perched on open car doors (not ours, kept closed!), and took turns flying in and out of cars. They looked like they should be called Blackcapped Whitebreasted Picnic Birds, but their real name is Canada Jay or Gray Jay (Perisoreus canadensis).

Can you see the Raven Trail ahead? Me neither!

At the start of the one-mile Raven Ski Trail to the rim, one sign prohibited walking, snowshoeing, or skiing on the snow-covered road. Another sign asked hikers, snowboarders, and snowshoers to avoid traveling in the trail’s ski tracks. But on that day, there were no ski tracks. Instead, fresh snowshoe tracks wove tightly around trees in the dense forest, up and down over uneven bumps, a nightmare for skiers. Snowshoeing, I loved how steady I felt, each foot sticking right where I planted it. A moment after traversing the only avalanche-danger, treeless slope, where signs warned not to linger or stop, a final climb through thinning trees led to the rim (see top photo).

Crater Lake (looking northeast).

In winter, fog renders the lake invisible for about 50% of the time. But on the day we visited, we were lucky to have a completely clear view.

What bird?

The Rim Village Café and Gift Shop, normally open for shorter hours in winter, was closed because the Rim Road to it was closed. We stood out of the wind near a tree cluster and unwrapped sandwiches we had brought. A flutter made me look behind me. I met the gaze of two Canada Jays—one per person. I made quiet kissing noises, causing the birds to launch into flight and swoop over our sandwiches, which we gripped tighter and ate up.

On the way back down, we crossed paths with a few people coming up, even as late as 3 p.m., some of them walking in hiking boots and occasionally sinking in the snow, up to their knees. The ranger helping drivers in the parking lot was going to be there until dark at 5:30 p.m.

As in every wild spot I like, I knew I would love to come back again, because Crater Lake National Park has many miles of winter snow trails for new adventures every time. On another winter day, the Rim Road and Café at the end might even be open!

All text and photos, copyright Caroline Arnold.   www.theintrepidtourist.blogspot.com