I have never in my life seen a lake that was so absolutely blue! A deep, royal blue that rivaled the color of the sky that day. It was amazing!
After briefly stopping at the Visitor's Center near the southern park entrance, our group found parking in one of the lots near Rim Village. From Rim Village there are several paved, semi-paved, and gravel paths that provide views of the lake.
Due to the amount of snowfall this past winter, the majority of Rim Road (the road that goes around the entire lake) was closed to vehicles. However, if you chose, you could walk more of the road, until you came to the construction (as we were informed by the park ranger). Our group chose to drive to the Discovery Point pull-off parking lot. This lot is very close to Rim Village, so if the lot is full, you can also walk there as we saw several individuals do.
Once parked, we took the short path which goes along the edge of the crater to Discovery Point. The views of the lake here were beautiful, including the sight of Wizard Island. The sheer size of the crater is impressive, as is the impossibly steep cliffs that lead down the clear azure waters below.
After taking in the beautiful, blue views of the lake we returned to the Discovery Point lot where we enjoyed the lunches we had packed in our coolers. While also fighting off the attentions of the chipmunks and birds, who (I'm sure from being fed by visitors) have almost no fear of humans and will literally try to take the food from your hands if you aren't vigilant. One even tried to sneak into an unattended cooler in the trunk of our car!
PSA to NOT feed the wildlife. There are signs and warnings at every visitor's center and park entrance. It isn't good for the wildlife or the people. Yes, the chipmunks are cute, and it might make a cool video/story, but we are just visiting these parks. This is their homes, and we don't want to endanger them with our interference if we can help it.
Clark's Nutcracker
Advice based on my experience:
Get to the park early. There was a short line of cars that took us maybe 30 minutes to enter the park. The parking lot near Rim Village was already packed by the time we got there, and we were lucky to find a space when a car left right before us. By the time we left the park in the early afternoon there was a line of cars that went out onto the road that leads into the park in both directions.
Check in with the park rangers for road conditions. We had checked their site prior to arrival, but it always is prudent to get the most up to date information on roads and trails.
Wear shoes with good traction. There were several parts of the easy Discovery Point path which still had snow on it. No need for hiking boots. I wore my trail runners and several of my group wore sneakers with good soles.
Buy a National Park Pass!! We used it in several of the parks we visited while out in the Pacific Northwest and it was definitely worth is for us. Some of the parks have line for cars which already have purchased the passes, which gained us quicker entry. In addition, since we knew we were going to be visiting several different national parks, we didn't have to purchase entry passes for each park, which saved us money. There are also discounts for Senior Passes and Military members, so check out which pass might be right for your trip. Here is the link I used to find the National Park Passes: Frequently Asked Questions | USGS Store
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