Oregon Part 4

There are 1000 places you should see before you die, at least according to Patricia Schultz.

Crater Lake is one of them on that list. After having been there twice now, I absolutely agree with her. This is one of the most BREATHTAKING places I have ever been.

Crater Lake did not come about because Mount Mazama blew it's top, which is widely believed, it collapsed in on itself. As this enormous volume of magma (54-63 km3, or 13-15 mi3) was rapidly removed from the chamber (about 5 km, or 3 mi below Earth's surface) to feed the climactic eruption, it created a huge void underneath the mountain. Leaving no support for this massive dome, the roof of the magma chamber collapsed, forming the bowl-shape depression known as a caldera.

Crater Lake is 1,943 feet (592 meters) makes it the deepest lake in the United States, and the seventh deepest in the world. Its fresh water is some of the clearest found anywhere in the world.

There are numerous trails for hiking and biking. Trails vary greatly in difficulty and length, but for healthy adults and kids you can definitely find a trail to suit your adventure level.

When we went we hiked Garfield trail, which is about 3.5 miles long and about a 1000ft vertical climb. We took out time and enjoyed the multitude of sites from that elevation. The kids did great, and while we did have to watch our step in a few places it was perfectly doable with our whole family

We even stopped to have a snowball fight, with an average snowfall every year of 522 inches, spots of snow can still be seen all year round. What a treat for our kids to get to play in it in July when snow hasn't been seen around here in months.

If your going to Oregon you MUST go here. For 10 dollars you get a week long pass into the park and endless adventures for your entire family.

You can see all the activities, from a boat ride to Wizard Island to Junior Ranger Programs on the Crater Lake National Park website.

As a note, none of these were photoshopped to improve the color of the water it truly is THAT blue. It's absolutely spectacular!