Take a Boat Tour of Crater Lake & Hike to the Top of Wizard Island
CRATER LAKE, Oregon
Description
Added by Jess Curren
Enjoy beautiful and unique views of Crater Lake as you take a boat tour of the lake. In the middle, you'll get to hike to a cinder cone on a ranger led tour.
Wizard Island is located in the middle of Crater Lake National Park. In order to get out to there you have to book a tour through the commercial concierge. Tickets were fairly pricey, but included a full boat tour of Crater Lake, plus 3 hours on the island itself. Half the tour is before you reach the island, with the remaining half after they pick you up.
To start, you need to hike the steep 1.1 miles down from the rim along the Cleetwood Cove Trail. This wasn't so difficult in the morning, but hiking back out in the afternoon with 3 kids was more of a challenge. There are plenty of benches to stop and rest, so just take it slow and plan extra time if you are worried.
Once you arrive on the island, the 2 mile trail heads northeast, but soon starts switch backing up the mountain. Its is fairly steep and rocky, but we took it slow and the kids did great. Once at the top, there's a path around the the rim of the crater.
We packed a lunch and ate at the summit with beautiful views of the lake all around us! The hike back down is much quicker, although it did take almost the full three hours to hike up, eat lunch & explore, and hike back down.
There are composting toilets near the dock on the island, which we made sure to use before getting back on the boat for the remainder of the lake tour.
Highlights of the boat tour included seeing the Old Man of the Sea and circling the Phantom Ship in the water.
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Take a Boat Tour of Crater Lake & Hike to the Top of Wizard Island Reviews
Crater lake is beutiful to see from the rim, but it’s magical to explore wizard island! There is parking across the street from the hike’s start where you’ll check in at the stand for your boat tour, restrooms at the parking lot, base of the crater and a compost toilet at the island. The trail to the crater is pretty steep and dusty, but there has been talk of them shutting down next year (2026) to pave it to make it more accessible to most people. Once down at the base you’ll be given guidlines and rules for your boat tour and basic safety instructions. At wizard island, there are two main trails that are about 2 miles out each- to the summit and to the emerald pools. Rocks can be unstable on the paths. You can explore nearly anywhere on Wizard Island. Fishing for trout and salmon and crawdadding are permitted and encouraged- you can take home anything you catch for free, no license or permits required. Plunge into the electric blue water! Swimming is allowed, but dont bring snorkels or goggles, as leaving or losing any items in the lake is subject to hefty fines. Crater Lake is one of the most pristine lakes in the world, we want to keep it that way for everyone to enjoy.
5.0
View was excellent; boat ride stopped in middle of lake to fill our water bottles with the water- which was X-rays cold and blue; hike was tough; worth it.
4.0
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