Garfield Peak Trail

Garfield Peak Trail climbs from the historic Crater Lake Lodge to the highest accessible point on the crater rim at 8,054 feet, offering the most expansive aerial view of Crater Lake available by foot. The trail ascends steep switchbacks through pumice slopes and rocky outcrops along the caldera rim, with the lake's impossibly blue surface always visible through breaks in the ridge on one side and the forest and distant Cascade peaks on the other. Mount Thielsen, Mount Scott, and on clear days Mount Shasta in northern California are visible from the summit.

The lake view from Garfield Peak is arguably the finest perspective available on foot in the park — the full caldera is visible, including Wizard Island, the Phantom Ship, and both the north and south rim cliffs. The scale of the caldera becomes comprehensible from this height: the ring of volcanic rock is nearly six miles in diameter, formed when Mount Mazama collapsed inward following a catastrophic eruption approximately 7,700 years ago that produced 150 times the ash volume of Mount St. Helens. Wildflowers cover the rocky slopes from late July through August. The trail is typically snow-free by mid-July and closes with early snowfall in October or November. Sunset hikes from the lodge are popular and the changing light on the lake is extraordinary.