Crater Lake National Park

Sinnott Memorial Overlook

Crater Lake National Park is the deepest lake in the USA at 1943 feet. The lake was created when Mount Mazama exploded. They believe that there were numerous fishers that spued ash and lava into the air. These vents formed a circle around the mountain and when the lava below the mountain was gone the mountain collapsed into its self-creating the caldera which then filled with rain and snow. With no way for the water to leave the water is very pure and that helps to account for the deep blue colour. 

Sinnott Memorial Overlook is a great place to start and learn about the creation of the lake and the area. You can find the overlook at the Rim Village behind the Rim Visitor Centre.

You can drive the Rim road or take a trolly car around the lake. If you are driving take your time to stop at the numerous viewpoint to see the lake and geological features. There are a variety of hikes that you can choose to do while exploring the park.

Due to the purity of the lake, the light reflected is a deep blue on a sunny day. Only near the edge of the lake where the water is shallower is the water more of a turquoise colour.

Phantom Ship

Phantom Ship is an island in Crater Lake. It is as tall as a 16 story building. This formation is over 400,000 years old and is made of erosion-resistant lava. This is the oldest exposed rock in the caldera.

Pinnacles were created by volcanic gases escaping through the layers of volcanic ash, cementing the ash into solid rock. Some of the spires are 100 feet or 30 meters tall.

You can still visit the park into October but programs start to shut down mid-September with many facilities closed by October. Remember that the elevation at Crater Lake is high and the temperature in the park along the rim is cooler than the valley below.

Mount Thielsen

Pumice Desert

On the northwest corner of the park, you will find the Pumice Desert. This area is the remains of the ash from the volcano. Very little grows in the area but plants are starting to establish themselves in the desert.

Pumice Castle

Hiking in the National Park. There are several short easily accessible hikes in the park that allow you to have great views of Crater Lake or areas of interest. For people that want a bit more challenge, there are hikes to the top of several mountains in the area.

We did several hikes. Most of the hikes are about 1 hour or less in length: Sun Notch, The Pinnacles, Plaikni Falls, Cleetwood Cove and Watchman Peak.

Plaikni Falls

Plaikni Falls is a very easy trail the ends at the falls. There are benches to rest on going up and several rock chairs when you arrive at the falls.













The only trail down to the lake is Cleetwood Cove due to the steepness of the caldera down from the rim.

Crater Lake at the water's edge

Cleetwood Cove is the area that the boat runs to Wizard Island. The boat ride shuts down the middle of September. 

Wizard Island

Wizard Island in the largest island in Crater Lake and is actually a volcano that started forming below the surface of the lake.

Looking for a great hike to see the sunset. Walk up to Watchman Peak. At the top is an observation tower. There are great views of the lake and the mountains towards the west.

Observation Tower

North view from Watchman Peak

Utah May 2018

Looking for adventure and beautiful scenery southern Utah is a great choice. The temperature can become extremely hot in this state so choose the time you want to visit with what you want to do. We were interested in hiking and there are lots of opportunities. You can choose National Parks, State Parks, and the National Forest Areas. The elevation was high so it is important to make sure you are careful about how fast you are walking and don't forget that you are in a desert area so you will need plenty of water. For more information on the parks in the area check out this link Parks in Utah

Backside of Mountain at Brian Head

We stayed at Brian Head which is a ski resort area in the winter and the chairlift operates in the summer for a trip to the top of the mountain. The elevation is around 10000 ft so it was cool and you could still see snow drifts in the area in May. The summer activities on the ski hill were not open yet so the area was very quiet. From this location, we could visit Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks easily. These parks are extremely busy and you need to plan accordingly. 

Zion National Park has thousands of visitors each year so they have restricted access to the park. You need to take a shuttle bus into the valley.  The bus can be caught at the visitor's centre. The queue to catch the bus can long so arrive early to get a parking stall and avoid the lineups for the bus. Don't park outside of the designated parking stalls or you will be towed and the current rate was $300 US to get your vehicle back. If the lot is full at the Zion visitors centre there might be parking along the road within the park. We chose to drive the road through the park and to return earlier the next day to get good parking. Parking in town costs $20.00 US but they do provide a free shuttle to the park where you can transfer to the National Park shuttle. If you are planning to visit three national parks within a year it is worth purchasing an Annual Park Pass which was $80.00 US.

Overlook of the valley road going up to the tunnel.

 Trail to Overlook

The drive you can do within the park is spectacular. It is very twisty with lots of switchbacks as you climb the mountain towards the tunnel. The road is very congested so be prepared to take your time an the views are spectacular.  The tunnel its self is an engineering feat when it was built. If you are driving a motorhome you will need to pay extra at the Visitors Centre to drive through the tunnel because they have to stop the traffic and make it one way to accommodate the height of a bus or motorhome. On the east side of the tunnel is a great hike to a viewpoint that overlooks the valley that you just drove up. After the tunnel, there are numerous pull-offs so you can stop and hike or just admire the scenery which is different from the valley below. You can continue on this road to Bryce Canyon if you wish. We decided to visit Pink Coral Sands State Park for a picnic before return to Zion in the late afternoon when the park would be less busy.

Pink Coral Sands State Park will cost a small fee to enter. The sand has been created by the break down of the pink granite in the Escalante and the wind blowing the sand into the valley. The tallest sand dune in the park is 100 ft high. The park allows ATVs on the dunes and there is an interesting interpretive trail talking about the sand dunes and native plants. 

s

Quiet Oasis

Returning to Zion National Park after 6 pm was a quieter experience that at 10 am. Most people have left the area so to drive through the tunnel there was less of a wait and no queue for the shuttle into the restricted area. We decided to do a short hike into a waterfall and enjoy the park before returning the next morning earlier.

Because the trial had fewer people in the evening we encountered2 wildlife.

Surprise Visitor

The next day we arrived at the visitor's centre before it opened but the parking lot was already filling up. There was a short lineup for the shuttle but we did not have to wait long. This time we were riding the shuttle all the way to the end of the valley where the narrows trail starts. Because we had stopped at the visitor's centre the day before we had already planned our hikes for the day.

walking path to the narrows

At end of the shuttle road, we jumped off to start the walk up the valley to where the stream crosses the trail. This short hike is very popular and is the start of the trail that follows the river up to the narrows. You need to watch the weather when near the river at the end as flash floods can be a problem when it rains. The water temperature was 50 F so wading across the river multiple times was not very exciting but there were lots of people with special hiking boots and walking sticks doing the full trail.

Hanging Gardens

On the walk up to the river, you pass several rock walls that have hanging gardens. The plants have found small crevices and cracks in the rock face to grow from and there is dripping water that helps to keep them alive.  

Survival in the rock face

Start of the Narrows

This is the end of the easy hike up the valley. From this point on you have to cross the river numerous times to reach the slot canyon. If you look closely at the picture you can see numerous groups of people walking up towards the end of the river.

Along the trail, there were lots of squirrels.

Hiking in the Okanagan

We discovered that there are lots of opportunities to hike around Kelowna with a variety of different levels of difficulty. Between provincial and regional parks you have a great variety of trails and difficulty.

Bear Creek Provincial Park: (West Kelowna)

This was a small park that is an easy trail with stairs and a hill to climb. Great views of Okanagan Lake, the trail was busy with families and dog walkers,  it was Easter Sunday when we did the walk. Below the trails is a very nice provincial campground that was full of R.V.'s.

Shannon Lake Regional Park: (West Kelowna)

This small park and is easily accessible.  This is a great spot for people to trout fish.  There were lots of people fishing from the shore or the small pier.  Walking here is not very strenuous and is disability accessible.

Spion Kop Hiking Trails: (Lake Country)

View of Wood Lake

North of Kelowna there is an area where the hikes can be easy or more challenging.  This is Spion Kop Hiking Trails. The area is surrounded by new houses but you can escape and feel far away from everyone. The lower trail follows a bench and over looks Wood Lake.  There are two underpasses that you use to walk the trail across highway 97.  The area has excellent signage so that you don't get lost.

Map and Trail Markers

Mission Creek Regional Park and Trails (Kelowna)

This is in central Kelowna and an excellent area for a walk.  You can choose a flat trail along the river and go for miles or walk the hill and visit the numerous small lake within the park. A great area to take children or walk the dog. There are numerous access points along Mission Creek but if you start at Springfield and Durnim there is the EECO Centre that you can explore. If you are visiting in the fall check out the spawning channel for Kokanee Salmon.

Knox Mountain (Kelowna)

This is a great location to get views of downtown Kelowna and Okanagan Lake. For the energetic you can walk to the top of the mountain or for the less athletic take a drive to the top when the gate opens.  There are several trails that traverse the mountain.  At the top you can also choose several different directions.  A park caretaker lives at the top. The day we walked the top there were six deer grazing up the hill behind the pavilion.  We also saw interesting birds living in the forest.

Gellatly Heritage Regional Park (West Kelowna)

Okanagan Lake

This is not a very big park but there is a nice pebble beach on Lake Okanagan.  You can walk around this hazel nut farm and learn about the Gellantly Family and their influence on the history of the area.

Hazel Nut Trees

Myra-Bellevue Provincial Park (Kelowna)

There are lots of trails in this park and there is good signage. You can pick up a map at the Visitors Center in downtown Kelowna. You enter the parking are off of Stewart Road East. There is an interperative trail that helps visitors learn more about the area. This is a multi use area for hiking, biking and horses.  When we visited the area is so large that we never met anyone else on the trails we walked.  There are great views of Okanagan Lake once you make the climb up the mountain.  The area was touched by the 2012 fire that threatened Kelowna. You can experience first hand how the earth rejuvenates itself after a fire.

Forest is Rejuvenating

Kettle Valley Railway (KVR) Trestles

Were not accessible at this time of the year. But this would be an awesome area to hike or bike along the old trestle bridges.  This is a must for our next visit.