The brochure says to allow 45 minutes to walk the 1.1 mile trail down 700 feet to the bottom.
We found the trail to be a bit steep in parts, but a nice wide gravel surface. It took us a little less than 30 minutes. I noticed several nice benches along the way, and knew that they would be welcome on the way back up.
At the bottom of the trail we found a small marina with several sightseeing boats. We patiently waited until it was time to board. It was a nice group, not too crowded, on this open air boat. We were instructed to remain seated, but that we would be stopping from time to time and would be allowed to stand for photos.
Our National Park Ranger was named Madeline Rose. She did a cute take off of the Indiana Jones movies and led us off on “The adventure of a Lifetime” with “Oregon Rose and the Volcano of Boom!” She was actually very informative and friendly and entertaining.
Crater Lake looks different from this perspective……
The water is still very blue…..but you see the land around the rim with more detail…..and this floating log, which is called the Old Man of the Lake. It is 33 feet long, with only 2-3 feet sticking out above the water.It has been floating around Crater Lake, upright, for many years.
The water in this shallow lagoon is more turquoise in color….a small waterfall flows into the lake.
This is a close up of the Phantom Ship Island. We saw this rock island from the rim……It looks different up close!
The boat tour lasted about 2 hours, and encircled Crater Lake. We returned to the dock about 11:30am and decided to start the walk up before we stopped for lunch.
I knew that those benches would be a welcome sight! We had our lunch with an amazing view……
Then hiked on back up to the rim. We still had the afternoon to continue to explore…..
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