Discover the Beacon of Crater Lake National Park

To think, there are still places in this fast-moving world that will forever remain pure, places where you can look out from a high ridge and observe sheer beauty and rest easy knowing it will still be right where you left it centuries from now. Untainted, free of modernization, the perfect escape. Sounds fantastical, right? But we assure you these places exist. One of them goes by the name of Crater Lake National Park.

Find your peace at the Lake of Deep Blue

Nestled in the southern region of Oregon, surrounded on all sides by more than 180,000 acres of conifer forest and jagged volcanic cliff, ancient Crater Lake waits for you, serene and sparkling. This crystalline centerpiece of the state’s only national park came into existence nearly 8,000 years ago when the region’s largest and most volatile volcano finally erupted. The blast blew ash up to 600 miles away, leaving behind a crater many miles in circumference.

Then, slowly but surely, driving rain and snow began to fill the void, and a lake formed. After countless centuries, Crater Lake was full of the clearest and purest water in the world. The lake eventually reached a maximum depth of 1,932 feet, making it the deepest in North America and seventh-deepest on Earth. This spectacular lake is the icon, the emerald jewel of Crater Lake National Park.

For visitors, there is much to see and do at the park and many ways to get around to experience the wonders of Crater Lake. Crater Lake National Park offers a variety of trail hikes to scenic overlooks as well as opportunities for swimming and scuba diving. Or if you’d prefer to travel the park by vehicle, you can either circle Crater Lake by car on the 33-mile Rim Drive Road or plumb the lake’s mysteries on an excursion boat. However you choose to find your inner tranquility at Crater Lake, just be sure to stop and appreciate the majesty of this incredible piece of work nearly 80 centuries in the making.