Cleetwood Cove Trail, Crater Lake National Park

If physically able you have to do this trail. It is very strenuous both down and up and make sure you have good hiking sticks. It's not too long but in the summer you will be hot when you get to the bottom (and I'm from Florida!). Bring a change of clothes and towel and be adventurous and jump in. People jump from the high rocks but you can also jump in from a lower area. You'll warm up shortly after you get out. The 3 bathrooms at the bottom are pit toilets. When you head back up you'll be happy to be a little wet.

Cleetwood Cove Trail is another gorgeous stop along Crater Lake Rim Drive! The views are, as is every Pull-out and Overlook along Rim Drive, breathtakingly beautiful. There is a generous sized parking lot with facilities. If you choose you can go down to Cleetwood Cove, which has dock boat tours and a ferry, and is reached by a steep 1.1-mi. hiking trail from Rim Drive. Cleetwood Cove trail offers the only lake shore access in Crater Lake National Park with spectacular lake views and access to the lake at the bottom of the trail at and near the boat dock. The steep trail takes from 1.5 to 2.5 hours and is 2.2 miles RT with an elevation gain of about 700 ft. The trip up is strenuous with an 11% grade. If you’re interested in the boat tour I suggest buying tickets online ahead of time as they sell out on site. (NOTE: I visited around 11am on Friday, July 3, the beginning of Independence Day weekend. The crowd was unbelievable! We waited almost two hours in the car line for admittance, Rim Village visitor Center has no parking and crowds at each Overlook were overwhelming. You may want to research historically high attendance dates and avoid them so that you can truly enjoy amazing Mother Nature at her best.)

My legs hurt just remembering the hike back up! Great place to see the sun set on the lake. The trail was pretty smooth, which was nice since we went back up after dark. We didn't have to worry about tripping too much. Make sure to evacuate your bladder at the parking spot before going down!

Awesome. First part of the half dome trail among others. Beautiful but tough. All the way uphill, slippery, wet, but rewarding. I recommend going in late spring when there is more water to see it at full and choose different ways to go up and down to see both.

Absolutely stunning views! User friendly trail even for the climb back up to the rim. Lots of rest benches& rocks to relax on for those less athletic & elderly folks 😁👍