Editor's note: Leaving Oregon Caves National Monument behind, lodging experts David and Kay Scott returned to the snowbelt, heading to Crater Lake National Park, which has had a very impressive winter in terms of snowfall, to update their book, The Complete Guide to the National Park Lodges.
It is approaching mid-June and much of Crater Lake National Park remains blanketed with snow. National Park Service headquarters received 55 feet of snow this winter and pretty much remains buried under a white umbrella of the stuff.
The rim where Crater Lake Lodge is located generally receives even more snow than the lower elevation at park headquarters, so you can imagine the scene here. A snow bank across from the lodge must be 20- to 25-feet high.
The drive from Oregon Cave National Monument to Crater Lake is an easy 160 miles, so we didn’t depart the Chateau at Oregon Caves until mid-morning. We took our time and stopped for gas ($3.89/gallon) and groceries in Grants Pass. We forgot to mention the price of gasoline declined about 20 cents per gallon when we crossed the California border into Oregon. One oddity, as progressive as Oregon seems to be, drivers are not permitted to pump their own fuel. We are unsure of the reasoning behind this. We seem to remember that New Jersey is the only other state that has the same restriction.
Crater Lake, the centerpiece of this national park that was established in 1909, is the remnant of a collapsed volcano. The crater is in the heart of the magnificent Cascade Range that runs from northern California to southern British Columbia. The scenic drive that circles the lake remains closed by snow. A ranger told us the western side of Rim Drive might open within a couple of weeks. With Rim Drive being closed by snow, the next leg of our trip with be more lengthy because we have to exit the park on the south side even thought we want to drive north.
Crater Lake Lodge. Photo by David and Kay Scott.
Crater Lake National Park offers two very different lodging options, both operated by Xanterra Parks & Resorts. Mazama Village Motor Inn consists of 40 identical motel-type units just inside the park’s south entrance station. The village, about 8 miles from Crater Lake’s rim, includes a market, gas station, Laundromat, and a relatively new restaurant and gift shop. Rooms at the motor inn are about $25 per night cheaper than the least expensive rooms at Crater Lake Lodge. The location at a lower altitude means warmer temperatures than on the rim, although the area isn’t particularly scenic.
Crater Lake Lodge has always been one of our favorite national park lodges. Situated directly on the rim of beautiful Crater Lake, views from the back porch and many of the rooms are quite spectacular. At least the views are spectacular during most of the season. At present the views from the back porch are blocked by a high snow bank that also obscures lake views from first-floor rooms.
The lodge has an interesting history and was at one time headed for demolition. The building was completed in 1915 using what apparently were shoddy construction techniques resulting, in part, by lack of adequate financing. The result was a lodge that looked good on the outside, but suffered from major electrical, plumbing, and structural problems. The region’s hostile climate certainly contributed to the building’s accumulation of problems until, in 1989 the lodge was closed to guests. A major $15 million government-financed restoration started in 1991 resulted in a reopening of the lodge four years later. The completion was a year prior to our first stay during the summer of 1996.
Room prices vary depending on room size, view, and bedding. As you might expect, rooms with a lake view are more expensive than rooms on the opposite side of the building with a valley view. Least expensive are four economy rooms on the bottom floor that rent for $158 per night. These frequently have no view at all because of snow piled next to the building. At the high end are two-story loft rooms that can accommodate four adults and rent for $288 per night. Most majority of the rooms rent from $190 to $220 per night.
The Great Hall of Crater Lake Lodge. Photo by David and Kay Scott.
The best part of a stay at Crater Lake Lodge is enjoying the Great Hall that attracts guests who wish to read, play cards, or enjoy a glass of wine and a conversation.
The focal point is a huge stone fireplace that is lit each evening. Granted, the fireplace has gas logs, but the ambiance of a fire on a cool night remains. Lodge guests enjoy relaxing in the Great Hall and in rocking chairs scattered along the back porch that spans a large section of the building.
Following a two-night stay, we'll leave Crater Lake Lodge and head north for Mount Rainier National Park. In between we are hoping to get in a couple of nights of camping. One is likely to be along the Columbia River, where it should be considerably warmer. Weather permitting, we will camp another night in a U.S. Forest Service campground northwest of Yakima. Then we are scheduled for a two-night stay in Mount Rainier, one in at Paradise Inn and the other at National Park Inn. The lodges of Mount Rainier National Park will be the subject of our next note.
Comments
Thanks for adding your thoughts, superintendent. Here at the Traveler we agree with you that there's more than meets the eye at Crater Lake.
Back in February we ran a Traveler's Checklist for the park, written by Owen Hoffman, who spent part of his early Park Service career at Crater Lake as a naturalist. He pointed out many of the same activities and sights that you did.
Traveler readers can find that checklist here.
Thanks to the Superintendent for adding his comments to this thread. I wish more senior managers would weigh in from time to time.
Rick
I'd like to apologize if I made it sound as if I were trying to dissuade people from visiting Crater Lake. I think it's well worth a visit. My comments were just my perception that the area has been focused around touring around by motor vehicle. With the exception of maybe a couple of backpackers, I didn't see anyone who I'd consider a "hiker" in my day there. I did consider visiting some of the areas that Superintendent Ackerman suggested, but plans changed that required cutting some of that short.
I did enjoy Mazama campground. I thought the sites were well spaced, although Xanterra didn't allow for the reservation of specific sites. There was a very nice campfire program in the campground amphitheater.
I'm not necessarily that critical about pricing of food service. Still - comparisons are going to be made to other large NPS units with a range of dining options and prices. I suppose a $1 burger isn't always going to be an option everywhere, although there are McDonald's in Jackson, WY and Tusayan, AZ near Grand Teton NP and Grand Canyon NP. Sometimes I see good value; I highly recommend the Canyon Soda Fountain at Yellowstone, which is run by Delaware North. I had a good experience dining in Klamath Falls, but I'm not sure if options there would be compared to what's available at Crater Lake. I'm also thinking it's somewhat fair to allow a concessionaire to charge slightly higher prices given that the operating (and/or peak) season may be limited.
Still - at Crater Lake we stayed at the campground and brought our own food. That's a good way to avoid high prices.
[color=#810081]http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/life/17_years_to_success_s_m...[/color][/url]
Seventeen Years to Success:John Muir, William Gladstone Steel, and the Creation of Yosemite and Crater Lake National ParksBy Stephen R. Mark, Historian, Crater Lake National Park, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior Also, Crater Lake's surface elevation is ca. 6176 feet (in wet snowy years probably closer to 6180 ft.
during June) so the vertical distance below Crater Lake Lodge is closer to 900 ft. not 700 as given.
The elevation of the Lake's surface is relatively stable during the year varying about one meter or 3-4
ft. Approx. Half the volume of water entering the Lake through precipitation primarily as snow is leaving via seepage, the remainder by evaporation. So, Crater Lake is truly the Birthplace of Rivers:The Rogue River watershed to the west (one branch begins at CRLA Boundary Springs, NE Corner)and the Wood River, Klamath Lakes, Klamath River to the SE in the Upper Klamath Basin. Theelevation at Jo's Motel and Organic Deli, Fort Klamath is ca. 4200 ft, same as the floor of Crater Lake;so all the wells in the upper basin are artesian, flowing under their own pressure.
I would like to join Rick Smith and thank Park Superintendent Craig Ackerman for commenting on this article. I hope other park superintendent's would weigh in from time to time when articles appear in National Parks Traveler that refer to their parks. Thanks to Kurt for referring y_p_w and other NPT readers to my earlier Crater Lake article on a Traveler's Check List for the park. As Supt. Ackerman has said, there's a whole lot to do and see at Crater Lake, beyond Rim Village and the 33 mile Rim Drive. The night sky experience is among the finest in the entire Pacific Northwest. I would also like to thank Anonymous for weighing in too. His or her commentary reflects extensive experience, a passion for the park, and has insprired thoughtful discussion. Of course, thanks also go to David and Kay Scott for writing this fine article documenting their lodging experience at Crater Lake. One correction: The park was first dedicated in 1902. The park's Centennial celebration was in 2002. It is not unusual for the Rim Drive to remain closed well into June, but it is usually completely open by the 1st of July. Because of the relatively long winter season along the rim at Crater Lake, the lake and inner caldera are essentially managed as pure wilderness for 9 and one half months a year.
An important lesson from any visit to Crater Lake is that the landscape seen today is
the result of 7700 years of dramatic change since Ancient Mt. Mazama destroyed itself and the
the local biota. It's testimony that Life on Planet Earth is truly resilient although multiple extinctions
have occurred throughout time. Imagine though if today, Mt. Rainier, decided to commit similar
volcanic suicide what the unimaginable devastation would be like ? What occurred at Mt. St. Helens
May 18, 1980, only 31 years ago, was a mere fraction of the climactic destruction of ancient Mt. Mazama
whose summit was at least another vertical mile above the Lodge Rim (and may have been similar in appearance to Mt. Shasta ca. 100 miles to the south). Humans witnessed Mt. Mazama's destruction as evidenced in the
discovery of the sagebrush woven sandals beneath Mt. Mazama ash by Oregon's pioneer archaeologist Luther Cressman in Fort Rock Cave ca. 60 air miles NE of Crater Lake.
A few typos to correct from earlier input: the establishment of Crater Lake NP date given as 1909 is
incorrect; the official birth date occurred on May
22, 1902 when Republican President TR Roosevelt signed the legislation (although TR never traveled
to see Crater Lake; the nearest he got was Medford, OR. on a railroad trip). National parks often have
one individual primarily responsible for their establishment demonstrating that one person can make a
positive difference. See Crater Lake with Yosemite establishment story above written by Stephen Mark:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60780-d95964-Reviews-Crater_Lake_Lodge-Crater_Lake_Oregon.html
The park superintendent needs to get serious about cleanliness checks of Crater Lake Lodge;
for example, the small public restrooms beyond the Lobby have been filthy during past seasons
and yet seem to be tolerated by park management and Lodge Manager Martin despite the many
complaints to the Front Desk. Also, guest rooms are quickly changed and are not thoroughly cleaned
between checkins. This all is very embarassing for Oregon's largest national park and its management.
This series of comments began with a California road trip entering Oregon to visit Oregon Caves
National Monument. Here is an update on the expansion proposal many decades after the fact
that special ancient Port Orford-cedars have been cut/logged by the adjacent US Forest Service
and now the dreaded exotic root disease is killing the remainder. Newton Drury of Save-The-
Redwoods League, and former NPS Director during the WW II years recognized many
similarities between Port Orford cedars and coastal redwoods, and
attempted to expand the Monument while the ancient cedars were living, but tragically failed.
A modest expansion of the [color=#366388]Oregon Caves National Monument[/color] is long overdue
While recent attention and controversy has focused on a proposed Siskiyou [color=#366388]Crest National Monument[/color], legislation is now pending in Congress to protect one of the jewels of [color=#366388]Southern Oregon[/color] — a national monument that has existed since 1909.
The Oregon Caves National Monument covers just 480 acres in southern Josephine County. When it was created, that was considered sufficient to protect the caves — although the original proposal was for more than 2,000 acres.
Science has advanced considerably since then, and scientists and [color=#366388]land managers[/color] now realize that what happens over a wide area of the surface affects the health of the caves and the creek that runs through them.
[color=#366388]The National Park Service first[/color] proposed expanding the monument in 1939. Expansion was proposed again in 1949 and most recently in 1998.
The expansion is needed now more than ever, and Congress should see that it happens.
Bills were introduced in 2008, but were not successful. In April, Sens. [color=#366388]Ron Wyden[/color] and [color=#366388]Jeff Merkley[/color] reintroduced a Senate bill, and [color=#366388]Rep. Peter DeFazio[/color] introduced a measure in the House.
The bills would expand the monument from its current 480 acres to about 4,000 acres — enough to protect the watershed that feeds the cave system. The new boundaries also would encompass three caves that now lie outside the monument.
A key to the legislation is retiring grazing leases that now cover a portion of the expansion area. [color=#366388]Applegate Valley rancher Phil[/color] Krouse, whose family has held grazing privileges there since 1937, has agreed to sell his permits, and the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center has agreed to buy them using privately raised money. In the meantime, KS Wild is paying Krouse an annual fee to refrain from grazing cattle on the land.
There are several good reasons to expand the monument, not the least of which is to increase the number of visitors, which will bring more tourism dollars into the economy of Cave Junction and the Illinois Valley.
Park Service surveys show the average visitor to the caves stays just 2.5 hours. Visitors frequently ask what else there is to do, and monument staff suggest [color=#366388]hiking trails[/color] in the vicinity, but many of those trails are outside the monument boundaries. Including them would make the monument more attractive to visitors.
Attendance at the monument has been declining in recent years, and the nonprofit Illinois Valley Community Development Organization, which operates the [color=#366388]Oregon Caves Chateau[/color], is concerned that the historic hotel may not be viable in the future without increased use.
Supporters of the expansion are confident the Senate bill will be successful. Approval in the Republican-controlled House may be more difficult.
The caves are not in his district, but [color=#366388]Rep. Greg Walden[/color], as a member of the House GOP leadership, should lend his support to this effort.