Parking
Use the official Castle Crest parking area and trailhead on East Rim Drive, about 0.25 mile east of park headquarters. A second entrance across from the Steel Visitor Center reaches the loop by a longer forest approach.
Overview
About Castle Crest Trail
Why go
- A spring-fed meadow with more than 200 wildflower species
- A short, easy loop with a memorable interpretive history
Heads up
- Bloom timing shifts with winter snowpack
- Wet crossings and summer insects can be a nuisance
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Crater Lake map
Full mapElevation6,387–6,441 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
Safety
2 active Crater Lake alerts
- ClosureCleetwood Cove Trail closed for rehabilitationCleetwood Cove Trail is closed to the public during construction to rehabilitate the trail and marina.Official details
- CautionPinnacles Road restricted to hikers and bicyclistsPinnacles Road is open only to hikers and bicyclists because of a road construction project; motor vehicles cannot use it.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Crater Lake Tour Guide
Your drive to Castle Crest Trail, narrated.
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 trailhead
Castle Crest Wildflower Trail0:00 / 0:25
“Castle Crest Trailhead is ahead, where a half-mile loop circles a spring-fed wildflower meadow. Allow thirty to forty-five minutes for an easy walk, with small stream crossings and wet stones.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Crater Lake Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Steel Information Center and Lady of the Woods
- Winter Written in the Trees
- The Lodge They Had to Rebuild
- Piano Wire to the Bottom
- 58 audio storiesacross Crater Lake’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Black Bear, Mule Deer, Common Raven, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 34 trails, 49 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Castle Crest Trail
An easy, short loopCastle Crest is an easy 0.
Castle Crest is an easy 0.5-mile loop around a spring-fed wildflower meadow below Castle Crest Ridge. The half mile is the full loop from the East Rim Drive trailhead, not an out-and-back; allow 30–45 minutes to slow down and look. Expect about 100 feet of gain. It is a good quick walk when you want a meadow rather than a big climb. The Steel Visitor Center has a second entrance, but it adds a separate forest approach.
Water before the flowersThe path moves through mixed forest and a dry slope, crosses a small brook, then reaches the…
The path moves through mixed forest and a dry slope, crosses a small brook, then reaches the wetter meadow. Expect running-water crossings and damp, sometimes slick stones. Take the loop all the way around to see the meadow from its different edges. Pets aren’t allowed on this trail.
A trail built to interpret the parkCastle Crest was built in 1929 as a wildflower garden and interpretive route, and was the…
Castle Crest was built in 1929 as a wildflower garden and interpretive route, and was the park’s first trail planned specifically for that purpose. Dr. John C. Merriam was developing the park’s education program at the time, with volcanism as its central story. Here, the lesson is close at hand: springs, wet ground, and a rich patch of flowers tucked below the ridge.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Crater Lake
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.
