Peak Season: Summer
Closed for much of Fall - Spring
Lost Creek and Mazama Campgrounds
Now, the Going to the Sun Highway is nice, driving through Southern Utah is colorful and eye-catching, but Rim Drive around Crater Lake is pure majesty. I've never seen a lake so blue. Crater Lake sits atop a collapsed volcano. From the rim it may look like an impossible task to climb down to the Crater Lake shoreline, but there is one maintained path at the northern edge of Rim Drive that leads down to the waterfront. From here you can take a boat tour to a cinder cone island, Wizard Island. I didn't do it, but rangers said there's pretty good fishing from here........and it looks neat, but for me I was happy just to sit and stare at the blue waters of Crater Lake.
The Lake is quite remarkable. It has an average depth of more than 1,000 feet, and it reaches 1,950 feet at its deepest spot. There's also an old tree trunk that float's arond the lake that is sometimes seen from some of the numerous lake overlooks of Rim Drive.
The lake, although the main attraction, is not the only reason to pay a visit to Crater Lake National Park. You can also take a short drive and hike to the Pinnacles as well as Vidae Falls.
If I had to pick my favorite, single sight that I've seen, it's Crater Lake, hands down.