Our next stop is Crater Lake. Since this is right after the 4th of July many campgrounds close to Crater Lake are full. After some research we discovered Sno-Parks. These are NFS(mostly I think) that are large parking lots for winter fun. You need a permit to park your car at these lots and go play in the snow. The rest of the year these are used by RVers as a boondock spot. 20-30 rigs/tents park around the perimeter for the night. Free. These work out great, there are 100+ of these in the mountains of Oregon. I had never heard of them until this trip. Works similar to a ski area where you just park in their parking lot for the night.
There is a perimeter road around Crater lake that we wanted to take. This was great, very little traffic, every stop had plenty of space for parking. We were surprised at the lack of tourists. The drive is only 33 miles, takes 2-3 hours with all the stopping. Crater Lake is as blue as the pictures you see. This lake is not stream fed. Rain and snow only. Underground seepage keeps the lake level but no one knows where the water is going. A mystery of nature.
The lake is so still and the reflections of the surrounding mountains are unbelievable. Put this on your bucket list.
After Crater Lake we are planning to do minimal traveling. This was in our plans until we start up again after Labor Day. We will be spending the month of August in Washington near Olympic NP and will do a couple day trips each week once we are settled in.
For now we are at a park in Oregon for 2 weeks, then we will visit some friends, spend some time at the Columbia Gorge and then on to our August campground.