Crater Lake in Oregon was a “must-see” for Helen, and we booked a campsite well in advance of this trip. Our home for this leg of our journey is Diamond Lake RV Park in Diamond Lake, Oregon. The campground is adjacent to the Umpqua National Forest and Crater Lake National Park. Massive trees surrounded our campsite and gave us an authentic feel for life in the Great Northwest.
Crater Lake was less than ten miles from the campground. We rose early on our first morning there and drove northward to the first overlook above the water. The closer we came to the overlook, the more snow we encountered on each side of the road. Maintenance crews had cleared snow from the parking lot, but heavy, packed snow blanketed the ground between our truck and observation point. Helen, using a hiking pole, negotiated the distance carefully. A slip-up could prove costly!
We visited the overlook on two days during this visit. On our first day, we experienced cloudy skies, and we decided to return the next day, hoping for better weather. The second day was an improvement over the first, but I’m not sure that we needed better skies. Crater Lake is fantastic! Lake Tahoe is blue, but Crater Lake sets the standard for blue water.
Snow and rain are the only sources of water for Crater Lake–that’s it. No streams or springs add water to the basin, and the water accumulated is as close to pure as can be found anywhere on earth. The blue color of Crater Lake results when its pure water absorbs all the colors of the spectrum except blue, which gets reflected to the viewer. At 1949 feet in depth, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States. I took a lot of pictures of both Crater Lake and Wizard Island.
Helen obtained a brochure at our campground and discovered that six waterfalls existed within about ten miles of us. We decided that we would visit them all for our next day’s outing. In the interest of full disclosure, some of the waterfall details came from Helen’s brochure. I added a picture of each one. The melting snowpack caused each waterfall to put on quite a show.
Toketee Falls
A tiered falls with the upper descent dropping 40 feet and the lower falls plunging 80 feet. The moderate trail is about a half-mile one way. “Toketee” is a Native American word for graceful.
Watson Falls
This majestic, plunging waterfall is the highest in southwest Oregon and drops 293 feet. The trail is also about a half-mile and is rated moderate. Watson Falls roared on our visit.
Whitehorse Falls
A punchbowl waterfall located next to a campground and required little effort to view from an overlook. Whitehorse Falls drops about 15 feet.
Clearwater Falls
We walked only 400 feet to this waterfall, a segmented fall that cascades over moss-covered rocks and logs. Clearwater Falls drops about 30 below the Clearwater River.
We visited the four waterfalls on the first day of our outing and saved the remaining two waterfalls for the following day due to the length of the hikes involved in reaching them.
Lemolo Falls
The word “Lemolo” is Chinook for “wild’ or “untamed.” It is a horsetail waterfall that plunges 102 feet into a deep pool. The hike to Lemolo is 1.5 miles, and we started under threatening skies and cool temperatures. The trail rated as “moderate” suffered from a lack of moderation. We went up and down many hills along the route, which followed a beautiful river. After about a mile or so, we hit a snag. A colossal tree blocked the remainder of the path to Lemolo Falls. Some helpful person had carved a step into the tree trunk, which allowed me to climb the structure, but it was too high for Helen to even think about. She pouted a bit but agreed that we had walked too far to abandon the mission. I went ahead and photographed the waterfall. The water volume was incredible.
I returned to the tree to find Helen pacing about, sure that bears lurked in the wilderness. I climbed back over the big tree, and we began our return to the truck…just as the rain started to fall. The further we walked, the harder it rained. By the time we reached the truck, we were soaked.
Our visit to the sixth waterfall will have to wait for another day.
We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Crater Lake and every place we visited in the State of Oregon.
We’re delighted to have you Easin’ Along with us. Come back next week, and we’ll take you to Depoe Bay for surf, sand, and oysters.
I’m so glad you got to all of the waterfalls as well as spectacular Crater Lake. Love your photo of Wizard Island! As you know, there’s a very small window of time when there’s no snow at Crater Lake! I hope you didn’t have mosquitoes at Diamond Lake. We were afraid to camp there after one horrible year when the mosquitoes tried to kill us in July.
Hi, Laurel,
We intended to hike to one more waterfall, but it was raining too hard, so we passed. Crater Lake is beautiful! No mosquitoes on us…too cold and wet! Good to hear from you! Joe
Hi, Joe and Helen –
Viewing 5/6 waterfalls is awesome! Thank you for sharing this with us.
The snow caps in the background were very refreshing to see during our continued hot weather spell. Glad to see you both continuing to ease along. I look forward to when you are about to ease along out this way! 😀
Hi, Donna,
We’re going to keep it on our bucket list, but we’ll give you plenty of notice. Helen and I have made the turn and are slowly heading east. The crowds in our National Parks are overwhelming and the hot weather is no deterrent. Nevertheless, we’re having a wonderful time! Stay in touch! Joe
The waterfalls were breathtaking!!! Loved all the pictures though!!! Thanks for sharing!! Luanne
Hello, Luanne,
Crater Lake was awesome, and the waterfalls were an unexpected bonus. Loved the entire experience! Hope y’all are doing well! Joe
Hi Joe and Helen, sorry to be late to the party. I have had a lot on my plate lately. This moving stuff is for the birds!
Looks like we will have to plan another ‘waterfall trip.’ I would love to see all of these. Helen walking across the snow is a treat to my eyes. Nice to know it is cool somewhere.
Love the Crater Lake photos!
Enjoy your remaining days and stay safe. Thanks for sharing your journey. I always learn something new.
Good morning, Suzanne,
Great to hear from you anytime! The waterfalls at Crater Lake were beautiful, and, with one exception, not difficult to reach. I thought about your most recent post as we “chased” them. Knock out that move and keep us posted on the progress. You will have it behind you soon, so go ahead and ice down the champagne! Joe