Crater Lake-North entrance open
 

For the first time in 20+ years, The North entrance of Crater Lake NP has opened before Memorial Day.
By no means is all of the snow in the park melted. The East Rim and Pinnacles roads will remain closed, probably for more than a month. http://www.nps.gov/crla/planyourvisi...conditions.htm
We will be having some much needed rain in Klamath and Jackson counties.
At the higher elevations of Crater Lake NP there may be some snow falling at times today.
This is good news for travelers coming from the north (Bend).

I saw that news yesterday. I remember many years ago as a child, the north entrance was open even earlier. We had family from out of state visiting and we headed down there. We were the only people there, and there was still a lot of snow, but I remember all of us looking out over the lake and how pretty it was.

UPDATE - It is snowing steadily this morning 5-22-13 in Crescent. The north entrance may not open this morning due to new snow. Check the website before you head for the park.

Tomorrow (9-28-13) is National Public Lands Day.
The north entrance of Crater Lake NP is still open.
There is over 6" of fresh snow in some parts of the park.
The East Rim Drive and the Pinnacles road are closed now.
Come and enjoy your closest National Park, Seashore, Battlefield etc. tomorrow with no entrance fee.

Latest word on National Park closures and those that are open with other funding: http://www.nps.gov/shutdown/index.html
Crater Lake staff have been escorting about 5 people per day out of the park.

"In the meantime, we respectfully request that you honor all park closures. With more than 20,000 National Park Service employees furloughed, the staff that remain on duty are focused on protecting park resources and human life and safety and cannot provide the visitor services that you have come to expect from us for nearly 100 years."

The Crater Lake Lodge and the campgrounds and the boat to Wizard Island are all run by Xanterra (a private company). The guests had to check out on the morning of the 3rd.

Five or more inches of snow fell in Crater Lake NP night before last. If the north entrance is not closed, it will be soon.
The south entrance remains open all year.

Time for a new entry on this thread. The north entrance of Crater Lake NP CLOSED (probably for several weeks) due to the massive National Creek Forest Fire Complex that has been burning for several weeks.
Oregon Route 230 is closed from near Diamond Lake south to Rt. 62.
Parts of the Park are smokey but remain open.
Nearly all of Oregon east of I-5is tinder dry. Please do not pull off the road where dry brush will touch the underside of the vehicle. No campfires either!
Call 411 from inside Oregon for information on what roads are open.

Expect to see smokey skies over large parts of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and northern California for the next 2 months. Firefighters from Australia and New Zealand have arrived to help out the USFS.

Rt. 230 and 138 and all roads in Crater Lake NP are open.
http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/4463/29358/
I went to Central Point last week and encountered some heavy smoke on 230 on the way back in the evening.
Enjoy the Cascades before it snows.
If you have any doubts about a highway being open in Oregon, dial 511 within Oregon

It's been 2 years since I addressed this topic. The north entrance of Crater Lake National Park is now closed not due to snow but because of dense smoke from several forest fires.

Rather than starting a new thread, I'll let everyone know that as of today, November 1 2019 the north entrance and the Rim Drive are closed until enough snow melts next spring.
The only way into the park is the south entrance off OR Rt. 62.

Thanks Tom. We are headed that way next week.