Parking
Use the Cleetwood Cove Trailhead on East Rim Drive, then take a boat to Wizard Island dock; this hike has no road access. The separate Cleetwood Cove Trail drops 700 feet in 1.1 miles to the lake and must be climbed again on the return.
Overview
About Fumarole Bay Trail
Why go
- Clear, shallow bay and a close view of the caldera rim
- A short shoreline alternative to the summit route
Heads up
- Uneven volcanic rock is harder walking than the short mileage suggests
- Boat access and Cleetwood Cove’s steep descent turn it into a full-day outing
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Crater Lake map
Full mapElevation6,181–6,260 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
2 active Crater Lake alerts
- ClosureCleetwood Cove Trail closed for rehabilitationMentions Cleetwood Cove Trail, referenced in this guideCleetwood 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 Fumarole Bay 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
Cleetwood Cove Trailhead0:00 / 0:23
“You're coming up on Cleetwood Cove Trailhead, the start of the only legal walking route down to the lake when the trail is open.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Crater Lake Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Lightning Spring Picnic Area
- Discovery Point
- Watchman Overlook and the Summit
- Rim Village and Sinnott Memorial
- 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 Fumarole Bay Trail
What the walk isFumarole Bay Trail is a 1.
Fumarole Bay Trail is a 1.5-mile out-and-back along Wizard Island’s rough volcanic shore, from the boat dock to a clear, shallow bay and back. It’s an easy, roughly one-hour walk by distance and climb, but the lava rock makes footing uneven. Think of it as the shoreline option alongside the island’s summit trail, not a stand-alone drive-up hike: boat access and the steep trip down to and back up from the lake make the island visit a day outing.
Follow the shore, not the summitFrom the dock, climb two short switchbacks to the junction shared with the summit route.
From the dock, climb two short switchbacks to the junction shared with the summit route. Keep left toward Fumarole Bay; at the next fork, stay left again. The first swimming platform is about 0.4 mile beyond the summit junction. The maintained trail continues west around the bay to more shoreline spots, then ends on the north side where the tread becomes hard to follow. Turn around there instead of pushing into the rough, undeveloped volcanic ground beyond the trail.
Take time at the waterThe bay is shallow and clear, with a low lava spit along the shore and the west caldera wall…
The bay is shallow and clear, with a low lava spit along the shore and the west caldera wall rising behind it. Watchman Peak is visible on the rim above. If you want more room by the water, continue beyond the first platform to the farther shoreline before turning back; swimming and fishing are part of the draw here.
A young cone in the calderaWizard Island grew from eruptions inside Mount Mazama’s caldera after the big collapse.
Wizard Island grew from eruptions inside Mount Mazama’s caldera after the big collapse. As the lake filled, only this cone rose above the waterline; most of the island is still hidden below it. The last known eruption at Crater Lake was an underwater lava dome on the east flank of Wizard Island about 4,800 years ago. That’s a reminder that the black, broken shoreline is part of a volcanic island, not a sandy lake beach.
Plan the island visitTake the concessioner boat from Cleetwood Cove to Wizard Island dock; there’s no road route to…
Take the concessioner boat from Cleetwood Cove to Wizard Island dock; there’s no road route to this trail. The island walk takes about an hour, but the boat schedule and the 1.1-mile Cleetwood Cove descent to the lake—and steep climb back to Rim Drive—shape the whole outing. Check that boat service is running before planning around the trail. Pets aren’t allowed on this trail or on the required Cleetwood Cove access.
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.
