Lodging

Post by Nancy D. Brown of What a Trip

Historic Crater Lake Lodge

Photographer’s will love the endless photo opportunities at Crater Lake. The lake looks beautiful captured in black and white, but the many shades of blue found in the water are beautiful, as well. What surprised us most about a recent road trip to Crater Lake, Oregon was the amount of snow on the ground in mid-June!

High Touch, Not High Tech

Nature-lovers will appreciate that Crater Lake Lodge has resisted the urge to go high-tech. You won’t find multiple cell phone towers in Crater Lake National Park. Save your battery and turn your cell phone off while you visit the historic Crater Lake Lodge. The 71 room lodge, originally opened in 1915, went through a major renovation in 1995.

Deluxe Lakeside Room #401

The fireplace in the Great Hall welcomes visitors to sit down and relax. In warm weather grab a chair on the balcony and enjoy the breath taking views from the edge of the caldera. If you are planning a trip to southern Oregon, be aware that advance reservations are a good idea if you’d like to snag a Deluxe Lakeside room. On our particular visit, there were four rooms available on a walk-in basis. By the time we showed up for our early dinner reservation, the lodge was sold out.

If you didn’t book your room reservation on-line, up to 13 months in advance, you might want to try the other Xanterra Parks and Resorts property, the Cabins at Mazama Village. Keep in mind that neither the Lodge or Mazama Motor Inn are pet-friendly.

Clawfoot Tub with Lake View

There are rooms to fit ever price range, from ground floor pricing, starting at $151, to Deluxe Lakeside rooms, listed for $206, to the four loft rooms, complete with mini fridge and views of the Klamath Valley.

Photos by Nancy D. Brown

Crater Lake Lodge
565 Rim Drive
Crater Lake National Park, OR  97604

Posted by Nancy D. Brown of What a Trip

Mazama Motor Inn

Our family of two adults, two teenagers, and a yellow Labrador Retriever with really bad breath, was trapped in a beige mini van for nearly six hours. We were taking a road trip to Oregon and our first night was spent at the Mazama Motor Inn. Unfortunately for us, we were shut out of Crater Lake Lodge. It seems you need to be one of those advance planner types to get a reservation at the Lodge. If I’d known we were planning on visiting this national park, I could have made reservations on-line up to 13 months in advance.

We’ve been road tripping to Oregon for at least 20 years, yet we’ve never taken the kids to Crater Lake. The National Park is located in Southern Oregon on the crest of the Cascade Mountain range. It’s 100 miles east of the Pacific Ocean and 110 miles from the California border on 1-5, if you’re into random statistics.  My kids wanted to know how long we’d be in the car and if there was cell service and a TV at Crater Lake. I wanted to know if there was internet access and were pets allowed.

For those wanting to get away from it all, there is no reliable cell service, no telephone or television and no air conditioners at Mazama Motor Inn. For those wanting to take the dog, Crater Lake doesn’t offer pet-friendly lodging. The cabins at Mazama Village are located seven miles from the rim of Crater Lake in a grove of Ponderosa pines, fifteen minutes by car to the lodge. Each of the 40 guest rooms has one or two queen beds and a private bath, but I gotta tell you, this is a no-frills type of facility. On my comment card, I noted that the shower control knob was very difficult to operate. The gentleman next to our room said his shower didn’t work at all.

Mazama Cabin I

Our room #3, one of four rental rooms in building “I,” had two queen beds and cost $126. Check in was at 4:00 p.m. and I haven’t made our dinner reservations were at 6:15 at the Lodge. FYI, I asked about dress code and it was casual. I also asked if there was a kid-friendly, hamburger, pizza, type of option, menu and there was a long pause.  The hostess mentioned Annie Creek’s buffet, but it was not within walking distance of the lodge. We decided to dine together at the Lodge and that was a great decision. The restaurant was family-friendly and the food was very good.

Mazama Motor Inn  1 (888) 774-2728

569 Mazama Village Drive

Crater Lake National Park, Oregon 97604