Crater Lake National Park Essentials

Crater Lake National Park features the deepest lake in the United States, reaching depths of 1,943 feet within a collapsed volcanic caldera. This list covers the park's key geological and historical sites along Rim Drive, including the 1915 Crater Lake Lodge and the volcanic spires of The Pinnacles. Visitors can observe Wizard Island from Watchman Overlook, explore the site of the lake's 1853 discovery, and view the Phantom Ship rock formation from Kerr Notch. The selection highlights the park’s unique volcanic landscape, from spring-fed waterfalls to the highest paved road in Oregon at Cloudcap.

Crater Lake

Crater Lake is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the Western United States.

Watchman Overlook

Offers a direct view of Wizard Island and leads to a 1932 fire lookout tower listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Discovery Point

The location where gold prospector John Wesley Hillman first sighted the lake in 1853, originally naming it Deep Blue Lake.

Kerr Notch

A roadside overlook providing the closest view of the Phantom Ship, a 170-foot tall volcanic rock formation resembling a ghost ship.

Crater Lake Lodge

Historic stone and wood lodge opened in 1915, situated on the edge of the caldera at Rim Village.

The Pinnacles

Group of 100-foot tall needle-like spires formed by fossilized volcanic ash and gas vents during the eruption of Mount Mazama.

Cloudcap

At 7,960 feet, this is the highest paved point in Oregon, offering panoramic views of the entire caldera and surrounding forest.

Sinnott Memorial

An observation station and museum built into the caldera cliffside, providing geological exhibits and views of the lake's depths.

Vidae Falls

A spring-fed waterfall that drops 115 feet over a series of volcanic rock ledges near the park's south entrance.

Mount Scott

Mount Scott is a small stratovolcano and a so-called parasitic cone on the southeast flank of Crater Lake in southern Oregon.