Day 67: Crater Lake. La Pine to Crater Lake N.P.

Crater Lake, situated in south-central Oregon inside the collapsed crater of Mount Mazama, has a surface area of 20.6 square miles, a maximum depth of 1949 feet making it the deepest body of freshwater in the United States, and its water can be described as only the most brilliant shades of blue. Every pedalstroke of the climb leading to the crater’s edge was worth it to take in every bit of this deceptively wide and sparkling lake, its massive cliffs, and its surrounding mountain ranges. Truly a place worth visiting at least once in one’s life.

Ride Overview

Mileage: 87.4

Elevation: +4565’/-2788’

General Direction: Navigate east through La Pine and turn right onto southbound U.S. 97, ride for 62.6 miles, turn right onto OR 138 and, 15.1 miles later, follow signs for Crater Lake to turn left onto Rim Drive, follow by the western edge of the lake and ride until reaching the campground on the left.

Points of Interest: Gilchrist State Forest, Cascade Mountain Range, Mount Thielsen, Umpqua National Forest, Crater Lake National Park (Crater Lake, Wizard Island, Llao Rock, Hillman Peak, Garfield Peak, Mount Scott, etc.).

Tales of the Trail

We began our day with a 51-mile stretch on southbound U.S. 97, mostly uneventful except that the temperature jumped over 30 degrees and Cascade peaks passed us by ever so slowly on our right. Our right turn at the end of this took us toward Mount Mazama and into Crater Lake National Park. From here, the signature six-mile climb toward the rim of the lake began. Pines old, young, and dead from wildfires passed us by, and more mountains and volcanos began to appear the higher we climbed, some near and some quite far. Sharing the westbound Rim Drive with cars was a bit stressful, but we made it all the way up with no issues. It was worth every second. The final steps up to the edge of the canyon brought the lake as a whole into view, and it stunned us from the beginning. Wizard Island, one of the emergent volcanic cones and quite tall in its own right, looked like a small foothill from how high up we were. Rock formations and surrounding peaks dotted with all sorts of plants and pine trees brought a lot of character to the place. We stopped to take it all in and take some team pictures, then continued riding into the evening and down the descent to our campground at Mazama Village. It was a day none of us will soon forget. I’ll let a few pictures do most of the talking.