After driving through literally almost 100 miles of smoke we arrived at the edges of Crater Lake National Park. Despite the smokey setting there will still quite a few cars coming and going from the park. As we drove in we stopped at a small overlook along the road before continuing on our way up to the rim of the crater. The scale of this park was very dramatic right from the start!

Looking into the gorge from the overlook on the road in.

From the southern entrance we approach from the road into the park proper was not terribly long. Before too long we were driving through the gate and approaching the visitor center. We checked in at the visitor center before continuing on and unfortunately we learned there that the day before the views had been perfect but unfortunately the smoke has pushed back into the crater today. Just our luck of course!

View of the visitor center.

The drive up from the visitor center to the crater rim village was quick and uneventful. Due to the smoke there weren’t much views to speak of along the way.

View of Rim Village.

Once at the top of the rim we originally planned to go for a hike but based on the conditions we decided it wasn’t worth the extra time to do. Instead we simply walked along the ridge a bit and enjoyed the view as best we could.  Luckily we at least got a few peaks of the lake through the clouds and even obstructed you could see just how massive it truly was. I can’t wait for an opportunity to come back and really see it on a clear day in all its beauty.

The best view of Wizard Island we were able to get.

Path leading out to the lake overlook.