Crater Lake Trail #562

The Crater Lake trail is 2.1 miles long. It begins at Forest Trail 707- Rio Grande National Forest (off of Forest Road 380) and ends at Crater Lake. The trail is open for the following uses: Hiking, Horseback Riding. This trail begins at the CDT trail above the treeline, then descends rather steeply for about a mile. It is then fairly flat until you go up for the last 500 feet or so until you reach the lake itself. This is a beautiful hike with many wildflowers and a few stream crossings. The lake itself is blue in color due to its high altitude location and is often full of trout.