We only spent one night in Ashland and headed up towards Crater Lake the next day. We camped at the Joseph Stewart Recreation Area on Lost Lake Reservoir (on the Rogue River). It was a beautiful place this time of year with lots of walking paths, lots of grassy open space (perfect for tossing a frisbee), and beautiful forest with flowering dogwoods.
The next morning we drove up to Crater Lake National Park not knowing exactly what we would be able to see. The Steel Visitor Center is open year round, but nothing past that is guaranteed. We stopped at the visitor center to learn about the park and then were able to drive up to the rim! There’s still a lot of snow up there (not compared to the amount they normally have, but a lot compared to the campground we were at!) We got to look over the rim at the lodge area and see the lake. It was beautiful! Formed by a collapsed volcano, it is the deepest lake in the US at almost 2000 feet, with no inlets or outlets known.
On the way back to our campground, we stopped at the Rogue River Gorge and the Rogue River Natural Bridge. A lot of the river runs through old lava tubes. At the gorge area, the river roars through a narrow canyon/tube, but at the natural bridge area, the river disappears underground for a short bit. The water levels were high when we saw it, so it didn’t totally disappear, but it was still impressive.
The next day we worked on stuff around the camper for a while before heading out to check out Mill Creek Falls. It was a beautiful waterfall dropping into the Rogue River and the hike around there was through thick forest. We also hiked up the Avenue of the Boulders (huge boulder in and along the river). The water is rushing this time of year, so it was impressive and intimidating!
The last night at the campground we finally got to use one of the fire color packets that the kids bought back in Canada! And the next morning, we found a tree fort – yes, Reece is in that tree picture!
We’re liking Oregon!
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