Access to America's deepest lake is closing to tourists: What to know
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If you’ve always wanted to swim or ride a boat in America’s deepest lake, this summer is your last chance to do it for a while.
According to the National Park Service, the Cleetwood Cove Trail at Crater Lake National Park in south central Oregon – the only permitted access to the lakeshore – will close in 2026 for construction.
How long will the Crater Lake trail be closed?
Timeline:
The park plans to start a construction project in 2026 to address critical safety issues at the Cleetwood Cove Trail and Marina.
Crater Lake in Oregon (Photo by: Bernard Friel/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The trail closures will last from 2026 - 2028. The trail will be closed, and no boat tours will be allowed. While construction is underway, the only way visitors can see the lake will be from above.
If construction goes as planned, the trail will reopen in summer 2029.
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What to know about Crater Lake
The backstory:
Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the U.S. and one of the clearest lakes in the world, according to NPS.
It’s located inside a caldera, or volcanic basin, that formed when the 12,000 foot high Mount Mazama collapsed 7,700 years ago following a large eruption. There are no inlets or outlets to the lake.
Steel Information Center in winter at Crater Lake National Park (USGS)
About 500,000 people visit Crater Lake each year. In the summer, visitors hike, take boat tours, trolley tours, swim, fish and camp, among many other activities. In the winter, rangers lead snowshoe hikes on the weekends and cross-country skiing is available on many trails in the national park.
The Source: This report includes information from the National Park Service.