Crater Lake Lodge | travelhappier summer vacay

Crater Lake Lodge is one of two options for lodging inside Crater Lake National Park. If it’s available, opt for Crater Lake Lodge over the motel in Mazama Village.

Perched 1,000 feet above the lake’s waters, the lodge offers spectacular views at all times of the day (and during the summer, the day lasts well past 9 pm). Nighttime ranger talks, a bookstore, a gift shop, and a grab-n-go restaurant are all within walking distance, making it super convenient.

Crater Lake Lodge Room Photos

My preference for five-star resorts cannot be overstated, but I will totally sacrifice comfort for the convenience of sleeping in a national park if we’re visiting for longer than a day.

Deluxe Lakeview King

Our “deluxe” room was teeny-tiny, but the view we had of the lake through our window was just gorgeous.

Desk, chair, Keurig coffee.

Took these photos on the way out; please pardon the messy bed.

The sink and tile were part of the bedroom. Rubber or house slippers are not a bad idea.

Bathroom with toilet and shower (with curtain). This isn’t a Four Seasons, but it’s a step above camping!

Standard Queen ADA (No View)

This ADA-friendly room was originally ours, but when we saw the disparity in room sizes between us and our friends’ tiny “deluxe” room, we switched (they needed the space more).

Queen ADA room with no view (first floor, bars in bathroom!.

This room was on the first floor and way bigger than our “deluxe” room, but it had no view.

Pardon the mess (this was pre-unpacking and room switching).

Crater Lake Lodge On-site Restaurant

Breakfast in the on-site restaurant was vastly better than the grab and go frozen egg sandwiches that we got one morning at the Rim Village cafeteria. The only issue is that they were out of a few things (yogurts, a smoothie, all bread varieties except rye…), but everything we ordered was great.

We didn’t get to try the restaurant for dinner. I had tried to make a reservation by calling in advance, but after several attempts and after leaving several messages I hadn’t gotten in touch with anyone. And by the time we got there, the restaurant was fully booked for the next few nights. Oh well. We did picnics and it was perfect! Also- if you’re hungry and don’t want to leave the lodge, you can order appetizers and drinks from the first page of the restaurant menu.

Fireplace in the lounge of Crater Lake Lodge.

Lodge Reservations

The lodge usually opens in mid-May and remains open until sometime in October —check the nps.gov site for exact dates. Reservations are taken 365 days in advance and will likely sell out the same day they are released. Check the Crater Lake Lodge website for details.

Fun Fact: The current lodge was built in the mid-nineties, but the Great Hall was kept from the original 1915 structure.

As always, let me know if you have questions or need advice! Happy trails!

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