Hi!

My children (boy, 12 and girl, 11) and I will be travelling to Whitefish, Montana after spending a week on Tomales Bay in Inverness California (north of San Francisco) in late June. I was hoping to hit Crater Lake for a day or two on the way up, but am open to other ideas as well. We realize it will be a 3-4 day drive but are up for it. We like adventure, history, beautiful scenery, water, nature, exploring small towns, and a museum or two. Any suggestions for a good route where to stay and what to see along the way are welcome!

Thank you!

Are you driving your own car or renting car/s? Are you coming back to California or going onward from Glacier/Whitefish?
Don't pay a big drop fee on a rental car!
You could take the Amtrak Coast Starlight to Klamath Falls from Sacramento, Redding or Chico (arrives after 8AM in KFS). Rent a car in Klamath Falls for 24 hours to go see Crater Lake. Sometimes there is quite a bit of snow in Crater Lake NP even into late June.
Return the car in Klamath Falls and get back on the Coast Starlight to Portland. It is your choice if you want to spend a night in Portland or make the connection to the Amtrak Empire Builder on the same day.
The Empire Builder arrives in Whitefish after 8AM MT after the two sections join in Spokane in the early morning hours.
If you can't get lodging inside Glacier, the Meadow Lake Resort in Columbia Falls is nice.

What a great idea! I'll look into the train option - thank you!!

Tom Fuller - I looked at the timetable for the trains you mentioned, and if I am reading them correctly, from Sacramento to Klamuth Falls we are travelling over night (12 midnight to 8:17am) and from Klamuth Falls to Portland, again, mostly overnight (4:45pm-7:41 am). I was excited initially about the train because of the gorgeous views, but we won't be able to see them! Do you think it is still worth it?

To answer your question about the car, we would rent one in California and Drop off in Whitefish at the end of our trip (we fly home from Whitefish).

Thanks for your help and suggestions!

Robin

Here's my suggestion from Crater Lake, but I am partial to wide open spaces while on vacation--I wouild not want to live there:

From Crater Lake go to Burns, OR by the shortest route possible, then to Ontario on the OR-ID border via US20 where you catch US95 north. Take the shortest route to the Garnet Ghost Town (east of Missoula) and then north on MN 83 to get to Whitefish.

The northbound Coast Starlight (#14) leaves Sacramento at midnight and arrives in Klamath Falls a little after 8AM. The next days train arrives in Klamath Falls about 8AM and gets to Portland about 3:30PM in time to make the connection to the Empire Builder which leaves about 4:45PM. Amtrak will hold the Empire Builder for up to an hour if the Coast Starlight is running late.
You must understand that Amtrak trains are at the mercy of the host railroads. Yesterday I had a very trying day on the Coast Starlight. A whole trainload of frustrated people sat on the train in Dunsmuir while UP tried vainly to get one of their freight trains off the tracks after trees fell on the tracks and on the #2 engine which had a tree shoved through it. We sat in Dunsmuir for 9+ hours before the decision was made to return everyone to the station that they got on at. We backed up 20+ miles to a wye east of Weed where they turned the train around to go northbound. I got back to Chemult shortly after 7PM which was 22 hours after I started there.

RLW, I think you should drive. The train sounds fun, but I think you’re going to give up more than what you get in exchange.I would not recommend going through Burns. I don't think there'd be as many things for your kids to do along the way.

Here is a route and some possible stops to start your planning with.
Day 1: From Sacramento, Hwy 97 up to Crater Lake.

Night 1: Stay at Crater Lake Lodge or Prospect Hotel. (not many other options btw)

Day 2: Boat tour on Crater Lake (arrange ahead).

Take the boat tour out onto the lake. You have to hike down from the rim. You can get off on the island and climb to the top. It was one of my kids’ favorite days.

From the Boat ramp parking lot, continue north, rejoining 97, and head north.

Night 2: Stay at LaPine: There’s a Best Western here now that looks pretty nice. I’m suggesting it over going on to Bend because I would suggest an activity the next morning down here, and you’d be doubling back. If you get there early enough, you could do this activity in the afternoon of Day 2, and get an early start the next day.

Day 3: Obsidian Flow in morning at Paulina/Newberry Crater. This was one hike that we all were just fascinated by. Be sure to wear real shoes, socks and pants (not shorts). Those rocks are sharp.

Rest of Day 3: Driving. You are looking at about 290 miles total driving from the crater to my suggested place to sleep, the Tri-Cities in SW Washington. So you could make one more stop, but not all of them. If you eat a quick lunch, that does help on your time.

The options I’d suggest you choose from:

--Smith Rock State Park has world famous cliffs and climbers. Only about 10 minutes from the highway and you can do a nice 30-40 minute walk and see quite a bit. This is really a dramatic gorgeous scene (even from the ground!) Location: just north of Redmond in Terrebone. Right (east side) of Hwy 97.

-- Maryhill Museum, and Stonehenge (yes, it’s a full-sized replica!). The museum has an great collection of Native American baskets, great art, Romanian jewelry and carriage from the court, chess sets and more. In a historic house. Café onsite is also quite good.

If you go to Maryhill, I’d go back south over the bridge afterward and take I-84 east.

Night 3: Stay in the Tri-Cities area (Richland/Kennewick/Pasco).

Day 4: Drive to Whitefish. This will be an all day drive for you. Google says 6 hours 38, or 399 miles total. I’m not sure if that time estimate is true. The freeway part might be accurate. The roads on the last part, I’m not sure. In general, most of us out West find that Google is a little too hopeful on its times.
While you’ll need to make bathroom stops, I’d suggest trying to make your lunch stop in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Just a beautiful place. It is 177 miles from the Tri-Cities.

Alternates:
If the Obsidian flow doesn't look as interesting to you, there are many other hikes and activities in Bend. You could also then stay in Bend, maybe at the St Francis, a McMenamins property.

Finally, if you don’t want to do the boat ride at Crater Lake, you could add white water rafting on the Deschutes River in/near Bend. There are 2-3 guided tour companies. They supply everything.

An extra day?
I would suggest an extra day in La Pine, Bend or Redmond. So much to do in this area.
Or, an overnight in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. It’s a lovely place. There are also about three water parks and amusement parks in town, or 10-20 miles way.

I just realized you aren't coming from Sacramento. You could also go up I-5 and cut over to Crater Lake. This is the route I know. Hopefully someone from Northern California will weigh in on this portion of your trip.