Crater Lake Rim Drive

Rim Drive is a two-lane paved loop that circles the entire caldera, the giant crater left behind when the volcano collapsed. It runs about 33 miles all the way around, and no matter which way you go, the lake is almost always somewhere off to one side. Most people start from Rim Village on the southwest edge, where the visitor facilities sit, and you can drive it clockwise or counterclockwise depending on which views you want first.

The road sits high, very high. Much of it runs between 7,000 and 8,000 feet above sea level, and Cloudcap Overlook, reached by a short spur, is the highest paved point in the whole park at around 7,900 feet. Up here the air is thin, the weather changes fast, and snow can linger in shady pockets long into summer. The driving is not difficult on the pavement itself, but it is slow and winding, with plenty of curves, drop-offs, and low stone walls built to follow the land.

What makes the drive so rewarding is how often it asks you to stop. More than 30 designated overlooks and pullouts dot the loop, each looking down roughly 900 feet to the water. Between them you pass old-growth forest, wildflower meadows in late summer, a small waterfall, and side trails that lead to even bigger views. Give yourself far more time than the mileage suggests. Driven without stopping the loop takes maybe an hour, but almost no one drives it that way, and no one should.

Crater Lake sits in southern Oregon, and most travelers reach it from the west or south. Coming from Medford or the Interstate 5 corridor, follow Oregon Route 62 east into the mountains. Route 62 leads to the park's West and South Entrances and delivers you toward Rim Village, the usual starting point for the loop. This is the approach most people take, and it is plowed and open to Rim Village year-round.

Coming from Bend or central Oregon, drive south on U.S. Route 97 and turn onto Oregon Route 138, which brings you to the park's North Entrance. From there the North Entrance Road climbs to meet Rim Drive on the northern side of the caldera. Keep in mind that the North Entrance and the northern half of Rim Drive are seasonal, buried under snow for much of the year, so this route only works in the warmer months.

However you arrive, once you reach the rim you simply join the loop. Signs at Rim Village and at the junctions point you around the caldera, and because it is a loop you cannot really take a wrong turn. You will end up back where you started with a full circle of the lake behind you.

The story of this road begins with a mountain that no longer exists. Around 7,700 years ago, a towering volcano now called Mount Mazama erupted violently and then collapsed in on itself, leaving a deep bowl. Over the centuries, snow and rain filled that bowl to create Crater Lake. The Klamath people, whose ancestors witnessed the eruption, have held this place sacred since long before it had a road or a name on any map.

Crater Lake became a national park in 1902, the fifth in the country and the only national park in Oregon. Once it was protected, the challenge became giving visitors a way to see it without harming the fragile rim. Planners chose a route that would follow the caldera's edge and open the lake to travelers arriving by car in the new age of the automobile.

The Rim Drive we follow today was completed in 1930. Much of the stonework along it, including many of the low retaining walls that still hug the curves, was built by hand by Civilian Conservation Corps crews in the 1930s, using the dark volcanic basalt found all over the rim. Their careful masonry is part of why the road feels like it grew out of the mountain rather than being cut into it. Because it is a road inside a national park rather than a federally designated scenic byway, Rim Drive never received an All-American Road or National Scenic Byway title. It has never needed one. The lake speaks for itself.

In the decades since, the road has been repaved and repaired many times to survive the brutal winters, but its path and its purpose have not changed. It still exists to do one thing: carry travelers gently around the rim of a drowned volcano and let them look down into one of the most striking sights in North America.

• Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States, reaching 1,943 feet, and it sits in the bowl of a volcano that collapsed roughly 7,700 years ago.
• No rivers or streams flow into or out of the lake. It is filled entirely by snow and rain, which is a big reason the water stays so clear and so intensely blue.
• Rim Drive was completed in 1930, and many of the stone walls along it were built by hand by Civilian Conservation Corps crews using dark volcanic basalt from the rim itself.
• Cloudcap Overlook, reached by a short spur off the main loop, is the highest paved point in the park at around 7,900 feet above sea level.
• Crater Lake gets some of the heaviest snowfall of any place in the country, often more than 40 feet a year, which is why most of the road is buried and closed all winter.
• Wizard Island, the cinder cone poking out of the water, actually formed after the big collapse, built up by smaller eruptions on the new lake floor.
• Crater Lake National Park is the only national park in Oregon and was the fifth national park created in the United States, established in 1902.
• The lake is famous among scientists for its clarity. A simple white disk lowered into the water has been visible more than 100 feet down, making it one of the clearest large lakes ever measured.

Rim Drive is a national park road rather than a federally designated scenic byway, so it does not carry an All-American Road or National Scenic Byway title. It was completed in 1930 inside Crater Lake National Park, which was established in 1902 as the only national park in Oregon. Much of its handsome stonework was built by Civilian Conservation Corps crews in the 1930s.

The loop runs about 33 miles all the way around the caldera. Driven straight through without stopping, it takes roughly an hour, but almost no one does that. With stops at the many overlooks, short walks, and photos, most visitors spend a half day or more making the full circle, and that is the way to enjoy it.

Highlights include the Sinnott Memorial Overlook at Rim Village, Discovery Point, and Watchman Overlook on the west rim for the best look at Wizard Island. On the north and east sides, Cleetwood Cove offers the only trail down to the water, Cloudcap Overlook is the highest paved viewpoint, and Phantom Ship Overlook looks down on a ship-shaped island. Vidae Falls and the strange spires of the Pinnacles round out the loop.

The drive itself is part of Crater Lake National Park, so you pay the park entrance fee to get in, and then the loop is included. There is no separate charge for the road. A National Park pass covers entry if you have one. Boat tours and some activities inside the park may have their own fees when they are running.

The full loop is a summer experience, generally best from July through mid-October when the whole road is open and clear of snow. For light, early morning often brings the calmest water and the deepest blues, while late afternoon casts warm light across the caldera walls. Clear days show the lake at its most vivid, so it is worth checking the forecast before you go.

No. Most of Rim Drive is seasonal and closes under deep snow for much of the year. The full loop typically opens only from around July into mid-October, once crews clear the enormous winter snowpack. In winter and spring, only the road from the south and west to Rim Village is plowed and open, so the rest of the loop is not drivable.

No. When it is open in summer, Rim Drive is fully paved, and any ordinary passenger car handles it easily. Four-wheel drive and high clearance are not required. The road is winding with some steep drop-offs, so drive at an easy pace, but the surface itself is a normal paved park road.

Winter here is severe. Crater Lake receives some of the heaviest snowfall in the country, often more than 40 feet a year, and most of Rim Drive is buried and closed. Only the plowed road to Rim Village from the south and west stays open, and even that can require caution, chains, or winter tires during storms. Always check current road status with the park before setting out in the colder months.

Services are very limited. Rim Village and the park headquarters area near the south side hold the main facilities, and there is little to nothing along the rest of the loop. Fill your gas tank before you enter the park, and bring water and snacks for the drive. Once you are up on the rim, you are largely on your own between the developed areas, so plan ahead.

The color comes from the lake's extraordinary depth and purity. Crater Lake is fed only by snow and rain, with no streams carrying in sediment, so the water is exceptionally clear. Sunlight sinks deep into that clear water, and the deep blue wavelengths scatter back to your eye while other colors are absorbed. The result is the intense, saturated blue the lake is famous for.