Tales from the Damp Side: Crater Lake National Park

Vehicle Free Day

Crater Lake National Park was established in 1902. It's the 5th oldest national park in the United States and the only national park Oregon. The lake is 1,943 feet deep at its deepest point, which makes it the deepest lake in the United States. But the most amazing feature about the lake is its color, a stunning deep blue that can only really be appreciated when standing on the rim of the crater.

A 32-mile road loops around the crater. Last year for the first time the park tested a vehicle-free zone covering 24 miles of the loop. Cars could access the west side of the rim via two park entrances and drive the 7-8 miles between the entrances but the rest of the loop was left to cyclists and walkers. The test went well so the park decided to establish two vehicle-free days annually. Somewhere in the back of my head this information must have been rolling around because when were trying to decide what to do last weekend I remembered hearing about this car-free thing. A quick internet search showed we were in luck: vehicle-free days were scheduled for September 20 and 27. Off we went.

It's folly trying to get a room at this national park lodge a few days in advance, but we did try. No, this lodge, with it's amazing setting on the rim of the crater, is booked solid a year in advance. The lodging closest to the exterior of the park boundary is pretty sketchy (dank little motels) so we opted to stay instead in Bend, about 90 miles north of the park. Crater Lake lies at about 7,000 feet and is covered in heavy snow 8 months of the year, but on this day the weather was spectacular. Except for the fact that I wasn't in shape for this kind of ride it was perfect cycling conditions. We added some extra miles via an offshoot road in the park which was also closed to cars. Total damage: 47 miles, 4905 feet of climbing.