Scenic pullout · Crater Lake National Park
A roadside lake view with a glacial oddity in the rock.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Crater Lake Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Crater Lake National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Crater Lake audio tourRecorded for this place
Skell Head Overlook“Skell Head Overlook is coming up, a quick roadside stop for a westward view across the lake. I'd pull in if you enjoy geology, and give the interpretive panel a look.”
Plays as you drive up to Skell Head Overlook in the Parkwolf Crater Lake Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Skell Head is a roadside viewpoint on Crater Lake’s East Rim Drive, looking west across the water to the caldera wall. A nearby interpretive panel gives the pullout a little more to notice. It’s worth a short stop when you’re already driving the rim, especially if the geology interests you; the view and the rock story are the draw, not a hike.
Glaciers left scratches in the rock here that point far east of the lake’s center, unlike the generally radial pattern around the caldera. One explanation is that smaller volcanic cones on Mount Mazama’s northeast flank bent the ice away from its usual path. The evidence supports that as a possibility, not a settled explanation.
The westward view looks across Crater Lake to the far rim. For a photo, keep that rim in the frame instead of filling it with water; it shows the lake sitting inside the caldera.
The stop sits right on East Rim Drive, so it’s an easy add-on while making the circuit. The road is seasonal, usually open in summer and early fall depending on weather and road conditions. Check the park’s conditions before planning a drive around it.
Wildlife
16 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
178 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
26 sightingsCommon RavenMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
33 sightingsTurkey VultureMost seen around 1 PMSighting map
47 sightingsRed-tailed HawkMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
71 sightingsCascades FrogMost seen around 5 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Crater Lake. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingMount Scott Trail4.4 mi · 3 hr · 1.7 mi awayClimb for the park’s only full-lake view.
ChallengingCleetwood Cove Trail2.2 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.8 mi awayA rare walk to the water, with a serious climb back out.
EasyPlaikni Falls Trail2 mi · 1 hr · 3.3 mi awayA gentle forest walk to a waterfall, with a brief final climb.
EasySun Notch Trail0.8 mi · 36 min · 4.1 mi awayA short loop through a pumice meadow to Phantom Ship.
Scenic pullout · 0.6 mi awayGrotto Cove OverlooksTwo roadside overlooks where the view reaches past the rim to Thielsen.
Sight · 1 mi awayCloudcap OverlookA high east-rim pullout with a sweeping view into the caldera.
Sight · 1.5 mi awayPumice Castle OverlookAn orange pumice castle breaks up the dark caldera wall.
Picnic area · 1.6 mi awayWhitebark Pine Picnic AreaA quiet picnic stop among high-country whitebark pines.
Scenic pullout · 1.7 mi awayVictor ViewA quick lake stop with a story built into the east-rim stonework.
Sight · 1.8 mi awayPalisades OverlookA quick look down to Cleetwood Cove from the East Rim
Scenic pullout · 1.9 mi awayReflection PointA long stone parapet frames another view of Phantom Ship.Sight · 2.4 mi awayCleetwood CoveOnly legal shore access, with a strenuous climb back out.Parkwolf’s Crater Lake ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
