Itinerary (About 4 hours) May 2024

Phoenix to Seattle Road Trip – May 2024 (7 National Parks and Lake Tahoe & Portland sights)

Day -8 – Crater Lake NP
Medford to Crater Lake NP (about 60 miles)

Steel visitor center 

Rim village 

View point from Rim Village

(Rim Drive will open only in July, We will plan to visit the park again)

Drive to Portland for night stay at Residence Inn (about 230 miles)

At 2,000 feet deep, Crater Lake stands as the deepest lake in the United States, formed by an ancient volcanic eruption.

This beautiful blue water lake has no inlets or outlets and is fed only by rain and snow.

The park’s high elevation (approximately 8,000 feet) results in significant snowfall and an extended winter season lasting through June.

During our May 2024 visit, we found the visitor center entrance difficult to locate as the building was largely covered in snow.

After getting our National Park Passport stamped at the Steel Visitor Center, we continued to Rim Village where we caught a brief view of the lake from the Rim Café lookout.

Since the 33-mile Rim Scenic Drive wasn’t scheduled to open until July, we’re planning to return in summer 2025 to experience the complete park.