Crater Lake: 50 Feet of Snow and a 4000-Foot Hole
We’d been watching the forecast all week. Crater Lake is moody in spring—clouds can roll in and erase the view in minutes. But this particular morning promised something rare: clear skies and warm temps. So we set the alarms for 5 a.m., coaxed ourselves awake with espresso and flat whites, tossed cinnamon rolls at the kids, and hit the road by 7 a.m.
Our goal: make it from north of Redwood National Park to Rim Village before noon, when clouds were rumored to arrive.
We pulled in just before 11 a.m., winding up through towering evergreens and finally bursting out into a tunnel of snow. Not snow on the road—snow walls on both sides. Snow that reached the rooftops. Snow that stayed, even though it was 60 degrees in the sun. This year, Crater Lake’s rim had stacked up 50 feet of it.
The lake, when it finally came into view, was just what we had been hoping for. The sky above was beautifully blue. The water below, a much deeper version of blue. You don’t get this kind of clarity often—it’s the clearest, cleanest, and deepest lake in the lower 48, formed when the entire top of Mount Mazama collapsed in a matter of minutes. After millions of years of volcanic buildup, the whole thing gave way, creating a hole that may have once reached 4,000 feet deep. Today it’s filled with snowmelt and rainwater alone. No streams feed it. No streams drain it. Just a deep blue bowl of calm in the middle of the mountains.
We walked along the edge, careful to stay far from the cornice (the huge drifting snow that looks sturdy but could collapse in an instant). There wasn’t much hiking without snowshoes or cross-country skis. The Rim Road? Still buried. It won’t open until mid-July, thanks to ranger-led snowplows carving a path through walls of white.
But even just the southern rim was enough. For us Crater Lake wasn’t about doing—it’s about seeing. And on this spring day, we saw it in all its snow-draped, cobalt glory. Totally worth the early wake-up, the long drive, and the cinnamon-roll bribes.
