Visit the G.O. travel page with links to air reservations, car reservations, lodging reservations, and more. Crater Lake began as a broad, 12,000-foot volcano named Mount Mazama. Some 7,700 years ago, in an eruption 50 times as massive as the 1980 Mt. Saint Helens blast, Mount Mazama exploded 14 cubic miles of rock into the sky. Rain and snowmelt gradually filled the bowl to a depth of over 1,900 feet, creating the deepest lake in North America. The endearing nutcrackers have been known to steal sandwiches out of visitors' hands.
Avalanches are a serious hazard on certain slopes at Crater Lake.
Check with the Forest Service's Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center regarding the danger levels. The trek around Crater Lake cannot be taken lightly. Only attempt the trip with a knowledgeable group equipped for route-finding, snow camping, and repairing equipment in severe winter conditions. Snowshoers setting off on the unplowed, 33-mile Rim Drive find no shelters along the way, and no shortcuts back. Dizzying thousand-foot cliffs block all access to the lake itself.