a day / 499 miles / 16 hours 37 minutes
Explore the wonder and beauty of a dramatic volcanic landscape from Oregon's Crater Lake National Park to California's Lassen Volcanic National Park. Encounter ancient natural forces that shaped exquisite mountain lakes. Amid spectacular scenery, you'll enjoy charming towns, abundant wildlife, world-class birding, and extraordinary recreational, historical, and cultural opportunities.
Day 1
9:00 - 30.4 miles / an hour - 10:00
The crater (and its lake), once a towering mountain, is now America's deepest lake, at 1,932 feet. You can drive around its thirty-three mile circumference, hike the nearby mountain trails to spectacular waterfalls, or picnic near wide fields of
wildflowers.
To many people, winter is the best time to enjoy the solitude, mystery, and the (then) icy beauty of the lake. Camping and other recreational activities, such as skiing along the snow-covered West Rim Drive, are especially great in the park's gorgeous winter,
which typically lasts from October to June.12:00 - 61.7 miles / 2 hours 3 minutes - 14:04
As you travel through any segment of the 9.5 miles of Upper Klamath Canoe Trail, you cannot escape the dramatic mixture of marsh, open lake, and forest. The meeting of these environments provides a rich habitat for many plant and wildlife species. The
canoe trail has four segments: Recreation Creek, Crystal Creek, Wocus Cut, and Malone Springs (from boat launch two miles south to the first junction).
Each segment offers spectacular views of the marsh, mountains, and forest. Wocus Cut is best paddled in spring and early summer since it usually is dry by late August. These segments can be accessed from either Rocky Point or Malone Springs boat launches.
The Rocky Point Boat Launch has a barrier-free toilet, boat dock, and fishing dock to serve people with disabilities. Two canoeists in good physical condition can paddle two miles per hour; please plan your trip accordingly.15:04 - 53.3 miles / an hour 46 minutes - 16:50
Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges
Six National Wildlife Refuges were established to conserve the basin's otherwise dwindling habitats. These refuges, Lower Klamath, Upper Klamath, Klamath Marsh, Tule Lake, Clear Lake, and Bear Valley, reach from northern California to southern Oregon and provide a variety of habitats: freshwater marsh, open water, grassy meadow, coniferous forest, sagebrush grasslands, juniper grasslands, and rocky cliffs.
These habitats support over 400 species of wildlife and serve as migratory stopovers and wintering habitat for a majority of the Pacific Flyway waterfowl, whose populations peak over one million in the Fall.16:50 - 353.2 miles / 11 hours 46 minutes - 17:37