The Deepest Lake in the United States

We started out the month of July with one of our most awe-inspiring trips yet – a visit to Crater Lake National Park. The sheer beauty of the crystal-clear, intensely blue waters is a sight that must be seen to be believed. When we finally got through the entrance gate (there was a solid line of cars for almost a mile) we pulled over at the first overlook to see what all the hubbub was about…. and wow, it was quite the sight.

Crater Lake National Park is the result of a volcanic eruption that occurred thousands of years ago. The collapse of Mount Mazama left behind a caldera, which eventually filled with rain and snowmelt, forming what is now known as Crater Lake. With a depth of 1,949 feet, it is the deepest lake in the United States and the ninth deepest in the world.

We debated whether or not we wanted to drive two hours to visit this park, and I’m glad we did. We had also planned to get a campsite somewhere between the lake and Bend if one was available. Amazingly, we did find one but couldn’t rustle up $17 in cash! No one gives cash back at these small town convenience stores. And, the one ATM in all of southern Oregon (hyperbole) didn’t work! So we squeezed every bit would could from our six-hour tour of the park and drove back to Bend.

Did you know? There are no streams flowing into or out of the lake. The water in the lake only refreshes through evaporation and rain. It takes 250 years to completely cycle the water.

Snow in July

After walking the Discovery Trail along the rim of the lake, we planned to walk the Wildflower Loop Trail to get a different perspective of the park. We made it about 3/4 of the way before we just couldn’t find the trail due to snow, even with the help of the AllTrails App. It was surreal that we were wearing shorts and tank tops in the snow. We came across a nice little stream and waterfall then made our way back to the car.