Steel Visitor Center and Rim Village - Crater Lake National Park

Our August 2013 visit to Crater Lake National Park continued as we turned off of Oregon 62 onto Munson Valley Road.  After a brief stop at the entrance station we headed to the William G. Steel Information Center shown above.  This building was constructed between 1932 and 1936 as the ranger dormitory.  Several other buildings in this area were also built during the Depression, including the administration building next door.  A total of 18 buildings are included in the Munson Valley Historic District listing in the National Register of Historic Places.  The architectural style has been labeled National Park Service rustic and was utilized extensively in many of the early western parks.  Inside the Information Center are restrooms, a small bookstore, an information desk and a very small theater room.  The park service presents an excellent 22-minute orientation film every half hour.  The film, Crater Lake: Into the Deep, includes underwater footage showing how the depth and clarity of the lake are measured.  The video also includes some excellent animation showing how the lake was formed after the eruption and subsequent collapse of Mount Mazama about 7,700 years ago.

Park Headquarters

Continuing up Munson Valley Road, we arrived at Rim Village.  There are several buildings in the village.  One building houses a bookstore/giftshop and a small food service area with a selection of sandwiches, snacks and a variety of beverages.  Another houses the historic Crater Lake Lodge that opened in 1915.  A very small building houses the Rim Village Visitor Center while the nearby Sinnott Memorial Overlook houses a variety of geology and research exhibits as well as covered open-air views of the lake.

Gift Shop, Food and Restrooms

The Crater Lake Lodge sits almost on the edge of the rim

Garfield Peak rises behind the lodge

The seventy-one guest rooms are usually booked a year in advance

The lodge also houses a restaurant

The Rim Visitor Center is one of the smallest buildings in the village

Ranger offices are also in the building

The Sinnott Memorial Overlook is on the edge of the cliff just below the rim

Access to the overlook requires descending a series of steps...

...and then following a steep, paved path

Mount Scott from the Sinnott Memorial Overlook

Wizard Island and Llao Rock from the overlook

A $10 vehicle pass is valid for seven consecutive days at Crater Lake National Park.  Another option is to purchase the America the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass valid for one year for $80.

The park website is http://www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm.