Pacific Crest Trail

The Pacific Crest Trail crosses Crater Lake National Park as a 33-mile, one-way route between the park's southern and northern access points. This is a through-hike, not a loop. I'd plan on about 14 hours of moving time for the full length; the park's shorter Highway 62 to North Entrance Road crossing is about 18 miles and is listed at 7½ hours, with two vehicles needed. The six-mile caldera-rim route is a separate alternate that climbs from Dutton Creek and rejoins the PCT at Grouse Hill, so it is not part of this route.

The park lists PCT access on Highway 62, North Entrance Road, and Highway 138 for southbound hikers. Those are useful road crossings, but no single lot serves the full boundary-to-boundary walk. This is a better fit for a through-hiker or a carefully arranged shuttle than an improvised day hike. The trail is pet friendly.

The walk passes through pumice flats and forest, with noticeable changes in elevation. Around Pumice Flat, the first half-mile is shaded before the route opens into pumice, burned trees, grassy meadows, wildflowers, and pollinator habitat. North of Red Cone, the PCT crosses a very exposed, relatively flat burned area. It passes the cone; there is no trail to the summit.

Water is scarce in the park backcountry. In a typical year, many springs and creek sources dry by late July or early August. The park recommends carrying at least a gallon per person and treating creek water. Build your plan around the water you can verify, not the blue lines on a map.

Expect patchy snow through June, and the route has large elevation changes. Backcountry camping requires a permit. PCT hikers with a PCTA through-hike permit can sign the park's north and south registers to camp on the main PCT corridor or at Grouse Hill; other backcountry camping requires a park permit. Camping is prohibited on the caldera-rim alternate.

This Oregon section follows a landscape crossed by the earlier Oregon Skyline Trail, one of the first built parts of the route that became the PCT. The full Mexico-to-Canada trail was completed and first hiked in 1972.