Rim Drive opens at Crater Lake National Park

CRATER LAKE NATIONAL PARK, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The entire 33-mile Rim Drive around Crater Lake, along with the 7-mile Pinnacles Road, will open for the season on Friday. Below-average snowfall during the winter and unseasonably early snowmelt this spring have led to an accelerated opening.

Visitors can enjoy spectacular views of Crater Lake from many vista points along this scenic drive and escape the heat of lower elevations. Wildflowers are beginning to emerge as the snow continues to melt. 

Most facilities and services in the park are also open with a few exceptions. The indoor visitor contact stations at Park Headquarters and Rim Village will remain closed this season.  Instead, an outdoor contact station is staffed daily by rangers on the back porch of the Rim Visitor Contact Station in Rim Village.

The Crater Lake Natural History Association Park Store is open daily from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM in the Rim Village Community House. Lost Creek Campground will remain closed for the season. 

The Cleetwood Trail, the only safe and legal access to the lake, remains closed at this time while critical work is done on the trail and lakeshore area to make it safe for visitors. The Watchman Peak Trail remains snow-covered and will require more melting, and perhaps some shoveling, before it opens for the season.

Most other hiking trails in the park are now open, but many still have patches of snow and debris. For more information on trail conditions, please call 541-594-3100.