Parking
A pullout on West Rim Drive about 2.5 miles north of Rim Village is across from Lightning Spring Picnic Area. Parking capacity and fees were not found.
Overview
About Lightning Spring Trail
Why go
- The spring and creek make a distinct early destination.
- Pumice openings, forest, and a lava-flow ridge add variety to a long descent.
Heads up
- The 4.2-mile descent becomes a long climb back to the rim.
- The PCT junction is a trail connection, not a notable viewpoint.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Crater Lake map
Full mapElevation5,879–7,192 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 Lightning Spring 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
Lightning Spring Picnic Area0:00 / 0:23
“You're coming up on Lightning Spring Picnic Area, a meal-break option on West Rim Drive. Walk up the rise beyond the picnic area for the lake view, keeping well back from the unprotected, crumbling rim.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Crater Lake Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Watchman Overlook and the Summit
- Discovery Point
- Diamond Lake Overlook
- Devil's Backbone Pullout
- 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 Lightning Spring Trail
A long descent from the rimLightning Spring Trail is an out-and-back from West Rim Drive down the western slope of Mount…
Lightning Spring Trail is an out-and-back from West Rim Drive down the western slope of Mount Mazama to the Pacific Crest Trail. The full route is 8.4 miles round trip, with about 1,298 feet of climbing; allow roughly 3½ to 5 hours. The trail descends for 4.2 miles to the junction, so the return is a long, steady climb. If you want a shorter walk, Lightning Spring is about 0.8 mile down, making a roughly 1.6-mile round trip.
Open pumice and forestThe upper mile and a half skirts open pumice fields and the edge of mountain hemlock and Shasta…
The upper mile and a half skirts open pumice fields and the edge of mountain hemlock and Shasta red fir forest. Lower down, lodgepole pine takes over, with occasional meadows and burned patches. The tread switchbacks steadily downhill. The scenery changes as you descend, but there is no big summit view waiting at the bottom.
Water on a dry slopeAt about 0.8 mile, Lightning Spring and a creek emerge from an otherwise dry slope.
At about 0.8 mile, Lightning Spring and a creek emerge from an otherwise dry slope. The trail bends beneath the steep Watchman lava flow, follows the creek for about half a mile, then crosses it and heads west. The spring is fed by melting snow, not by a leak from Crater Lake. Treat or filter water before drinking; its potability is not established.
Bybee Creek and the turnaroundBeyond the spring, the trail continues downhill through forest toward Bybee Creek.
Beyond the spring, the trail continues downhill through forest toward Bybee Creek. Switchbacks reach the creek's north bank, and the final quarter mile follows it to Bybee Camp and the Pacific Crest Trail junction. The junction is useful as a turnaround, but it is not a standout viewpoint. Turn around there and retrace the same route.
A former fire roadThis line began as a fire-control road built in the 1930s for park crews working a…
This line began as a fire-control road built in the 1930s for park crews working a lightning-prone slope. It has since become a hiking trail. The route crosses the pumice left by Mount Mazama's eruption and passes beneath the Watchman flow, an andesite ridge on the volcano's western flank.
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.
