This Scenic Drive Runs Straight Through Oregon's Crater Lake National Park, And It's A Breathtaking Journey
By Christy Articola|Published April 12, 2023
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Christy Articola
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Christy Articola has lived in Colorado since 2013 and considers herself a Centennial State enthusiast and expert through and through. She's based in Denver metro, but over the past decade, she has traveled to every corner, river, village, park, town, and city in the state and continues to explore it deeper and further whenever she can. Christy simply can't get enough of Colorado, and loves sharing all her adventures with you through Only In Your State! She graduated with a degree in journalism from Fordham University and is thrilled to be working as a full time travel writer for this and other sites - she finally found her perfect niche - and is so grateful for that.
There are lots of reasons to go to Oregon’s Crater Lake National Park, but one reason that you may not already know is that there’s a National Scenic Byway that runs right through it. The Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway is one of only 42 All American Roads in the nation and it was designated as a scenic byway for good reasons. It’s approximately 500 miles long from north to south and it travels along the Cascade Mountain Range past numerous volcanoes, including Mount Mazama, the volcano in which Crater Lake was formed approximately 7,700 years ago. You’ll love this scenic drive through Crater Lake National Park and beyond. Read on to learn more about it.
If you've ever been to Crater Lake National Park, then you know that there is one main road that runs north and south through the park. There are turnoffs from that road that will take you to other places in the park, including a loop around the lake, but if you just stay on that main road, you'll travel directly between the the park's north and south entrance stations.
You might not know it, but this north-south road, AND East Rim Drive, which goes around the lake in the park, are both parts of the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway.
This 500-mile-long National Scenic Byway is actually made up of two state byways - one in Oregon and one in California. The whole thing begins just north of Crater Lake National Park. It travels south into California where it takes a detour to Lava Beds National Monument. It passes by Mount Shasta, the highest peak on the route, and ends in a loop near Lassen National Park. About 50 miles of the byway are inside Crater Lake National Park.
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This is a great thing to know about if you are visiting Crater Lake National Park. Many visitors enter the park and then simply rush to the rim's edge to look at the royal blue water of the lake. That's understandable - Crater Lake is spectacularly beautiful. However, there is a lot of other beauty to see in this park as well.
In Crater Lake National Park, the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway will take you through unique places like the Pumice Desert, shown here. This 3,055-acre area is in the northern part of the park. It was a glacial valley before Mount Mazama erupted.
Along Rim Drive, you can visit Cloudcap Overlook, which is at the highest paved point in Oregon at 8,065 feet. When you pull away from this overlook to continue on the road, this will be your scenic view.
You can also see this peak along this incredible drive. Hillman Peak is a basalt pinnacle on the rim of the Crater Lake caldera. At 8,151 feet above sea level, it is one of several peaks on the crater rim and the highest. This view of West Rim Drive, Hillman Peak, and the lake itself was photographed at dusk from the Watchman Overlook, which is another pull-off along this scenic byway.
Of course, the lake itself is the crown jewel of this park. It's the deepest lake in our nation at 1,943 feet and it's sure worth looking at for a good, long while.
Rim Drive is closed for much of the winter, so plan your trip accordingly. Be sure you check to make sure this portion of the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Parkway is open before you head out to conquer it.
Whenever you decide to go, perhaps consider continuing along this scenic byway for its entire length! As you pass through the rest of Oregon and through northern California, there's so much along it to see. It will be clear to you why this stretch of road was designated a National Scenic Byway - it's certainly deserving of that title!
Whether you simply follow the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway through Crater Lake National Park or if you choose to explore its entire length, you’re going to love this drive and everything about it. You’ll see beautiful vistas and you’ll learn a lot about volcanoes. Have a wonderful trip!
