EllieMayLynch

Hello!

My Husband and I are visiting friends in Eugene, Oregon late June 2018. We have Tuesday-Friday on our own - basically 4 days - and would like to visit Crater Lake and Ashland. We are in our 50's and appreciate beautiful scenery and short hikes. We don't mind long drives. We will plan to see a play or 2 in Ashland but don't 'need' to spend a lot of time there if it's better spent at CL or exploring elsewhere. Would love to get some expert feedback! Here are my questions:

There is no lodging at the Crater Lake Lodge - what are some other options, Prospect Hill?
I see some AirBnB avails in Chiloquin. Is this a reasonable location?
We have 3 nights to spend - should we spend 2 nights at Ashland/1 at Crater Lake? - or vice versa?
Does it matter which we hit first - CL or Ashland?
Any suggestions for scenic drives, stops, etc.

Thank you very much in advance for suggestions!

5alive

There are lots of things to do near Ashland.
I would suggest you plan one long day at Crater Lake, staying nearby for the evening afterward because it's kind of a ways from anywhere, you'll be tired. The best Crter Lake hike is to hike down to the water, take the boat ride out to the island. HIke to the top of the island and back for the boat ride the rest of the way around the lake. You'll need to reserve your boat tickets, but you've got time.

At the end of that long day, yes, stay nearby if you can. We camp, so I don't have first hand experience, but the Prospect B&B is well spoken of on this board. Besides the Crater Lake Lodge restaurants, the Prospect is perhaps the only lodging that serves dinner--and so you'll want to actually make a dinner reservation. Pretty sure they have a less expensive motel behind the B&B building. I notice there are other airbnb's near the Prospect, so that might be an alternative.

We also have had family friends who have stayed at Diamond Lake Resort and then drove down to the lake from there. It would be somewhat backtracking to go back to Diamond Lake at the end of the day though. And I definitely would not go to Chiloquin as it's heading away from Ashland after you're done with Crater Lake. You'll be backtracking more.

Check the Oregon Shakespeare Festival website to see which days you might want to see a play. Most likely, there will be more choices playing closer to the weekend and you could start with Crater Lake and then move on to Ashland. Stay in Ashland if you can, it's such a cute town. The obvious short hike is to spend a few hours at Lithia Park, right in Ashland. A day trip you can easily do from Ashland is to head to the Oregon Caves for the day. Some short hikes after seeing the caves. There are more hikes in the area but I am not the best source for those. Also: You will want to reserve theatre tickets once you set your itinerary.

Gardyloo

I'd suggest you make the Crater Lake decision in "real time." It's entirely possible (maybe even probable) that the full circuit of the rim won't be available - see https://www.nps.gov/crla/planyourvisit/hours.htm . I've also been to Crater Lake in late June when everything was totally socked in, we literally couldn't see the lake from the lodge. Now this might or might not be your experience, but I'll just ask the Dirty Harry question: Do you feel lucky?

So at the risk of knocking some apples out of their carts, let me just throw out a terrific 4-day alternative. Map - https://goo.gl/maps/diqwRLgCR2o

Head out to the coast using OR 38 from Drain to Reedsport. This is a very scenic road which runs through a lovely little canyon along the lower Umpqua River, and keep an eye out for numerous elk at the side of the road (pullout and viewpoint available) just before you get to Reedsport. Then head down the coast through Coos Bay to Bandon, the prettiest town on the southern Oregon coast, with several decent restaurants in the "old town" area. Continue south past stunning coastal scenery (the last 60 miles are IMO the most beautiful parts of the Oregon coast) to the California state line.



Head south to Crescent City and a bit beyond if time permits to the Del Norte Coast redwoods and maybe the kitschy but fun Trees of Mystery. Then turn around and head back north, visiting the Jedediah Smith redwoods on US 199. You could even stop at the Oregon Caves en route to the Rogue Valley.

Head down I-5 from Grants Pass to Ashland. While you're in Ashland consider spending a day or a few hours in nearby Jacksonville, a very pretty, historic town and setting for its own major festival (Britt Festival, July - August.)

Then back to Eugene. Two nights on the coast and two in Ashland/Jacksonville would be terrific IMO, and a much surer thing than Crater Lake.

janisj

I personally wouldn't plan a trip (or a day of a trip) around Crater Lake at that IME of year. June is still too iffy re access. So I agree with Gardyloo that you'd need to wait and see what conditions are on the day.

EllieMayLynch

Thank you so much for the feedback. I like the idea of a game day decision but not sure how we can do that since we'll need advance hotel reservations. And seeing as our travel dates are fixed and this may be my only chance to see Crater Lake it's hard to give up just yet. So a couple more questions:

--It looks like historically there is a good chance the West Rim Road will be open by our June 27th travel date - so we'll see the lake if the weather cooperates (no clouds and fog), correct? I really don't need to make the drive all the way around.
--In the event that the weather does NOT cooperate, would it be a total waste of time to be in that area? Is CL literally the only area attraction?

Any and all feedback appreciated - thank again.

Gardyloo

Are you flying into/out of Eugene, or Portland, or...?

"Total waste of time" is a bit much, but of course the second half of that question is, "compared to what?"

But sure, if Crater Lake is a bucket list item, then go for it. As for where to stay, that's always problematic with Crater Lake, because the nearest towns with any kind of accommodation are all a couple of hours at least from the lake itself. Bend is very popular as is Sisters, but for that matter Grants Pass, Medford and Ashland are also a couple of hours, well within day trip range.

In fact, since you say you don't mind long drives (and these really aren't) you could stay somewhere in the Rogue Valley (Grants Pass, Medford, Jacksonville, Ashland) and do one day trip to Crater Lake and another out to the Jedediah Smith Redwoods and up the coast a little ways to Ariya's Beach, where I took the picture above. Both Crater Lake Lodge and the Smith Redwoods are around a 2 1/4 hour drive from those towns (Ashland maybe 15 minutes longer) and in late June you'll certainly have no problems with daylight. That way you could find one accommodation and not need to uproot, but keep your options open. Here's a map that shows some of the distances and approximate drive times - https://goo.gl/maps/zecG2CYECVr

On the subject of accommodations, you probably have already discovered that hotels in Ashland during the festival are quite expensive. When we've gone in recent years we just bit the bullet and stayed in Medford. Medford isn't going to win any beauty contests, but the hotel prices can be worth the sacrifice.

sunbum1944

Prospect Hotel is a decent place to stay and easy drive to Crater Lake. There are motel type rooms in the back of the hotel and more inn type rooms in the main building. The main building is an old stagecoach stop. They have excellent food.
Another place to consider is Steamboat inn on the Umqua River.
There are many waterfalls hikes you could do along Hwy 138. Some are just short walks, some are longer. Susan Falls and Watson Falls are a couple of favorites.

EllieMayLynch

Thank you all for taking the time to offer feedback and suggestions - I really appreciate it and it's been tremendously helpful. Here is what I'm thinking now:

Tues 6/26 - Arrive Portland in the a.m. - explore area and overnight
Wed. 6/27 - drive to Ashland to home base for 2 days making day trips - weather permitting see CL
Fri. 6/29 - drive to Eugene - possibly another opportunity to see CL (we are not due in Eugene until evening)
Sat. 6/30 - Eugene all day
Sun 7/1 - drive to Portland - explore - fly out in the evening

I know it's a lot of driving but we have a lot of time to rest in Eugene while visiting family.

Thanks, again!

5alive

I am looking at your original post. You mentioned your priorities as being: Crater Lake, other short day hikes and some Shakespeare plays if possible. Reading all the posts that have come after it, we've sort of lost track of your original goals. And I cringe to see someone saying "we have a lot of time to rest in Eugene..."

You are going on June 27? There isn't a single year going back to 2004 that the West Rim road was still closed on June 27. Sure, there's always a first time for everything. But truthfully--if you want to go, I'd risk it. The lake really is glorious and no need to drive all the way around it (because yes, the east probably will still be closed).

And I would gamble and stay the first night at Prospect. It would make seeing the lake the next day so much easier. If this year's snowfall prevents you from seeing the lake, then you've spent one night in a historic, pleasant B&B that's a couple hours out of your way. Stay the second night in Medford or Ashland regardless.

Fodorite018

5 alive just wrote what I was thinking. Definitely try for Crater Lake! It is stunning.

tomfuller

Since you are going to Ashland first, you will go to Crater Lake via the south entrance off Rt. 62.
There has been a snow dought in the Cascades so far this winter. I'm hoping that we will get some more snow soon.
Last year my DW went to a play in Ashland and some of the performances were smoked out by forest fire smoke.
I'm hoping that it is not a bad fire season this year but it may be because we had so little snow in the mountains.
The north entrance of Crater Lake should be open by June 27 so that you can go west on 136 to Roseburg to go north to Eugene.
While in the Portland area be sure to go east on I-84 to see Multnomah Falls and maybe some other waterfalls.

EllieMayLynch

Thank you!

EllieMayLynch

By resting in Eugene I mean that we will be sitting around a fair bit with family. But we do have time to explore also. Any suggestions of things to do in Eugene?

bbqboy

We go up Dead Indian and come back 62 in the Evening. A good one day trip.
Prime rafting time if you're interested. We love visitors in Ashlandia.

tomfuller

IN Eugene you can go to the top of Skinner Butte. The town is named for Eugene Skinner. Better Eugene than Skinnersville.
On the way from Eugene to Portland, try a hike at Silver Creek Falls State Park. There are several waterfalls besides the big one.

sunbum1944

IN Eugene there is a nice paved walk along the river. If you get tired of walking, you can stop for snacks or adult beverages at the North Bank or Valley River.
You could drive up the McKenzie River to Sahalie Falls- There is a nice hike you could do from there. You could drive to Belknap Hot Springs and soak in the pool.

If if you like beer, Eugene has a lot of brewpubs- Hop Valley, Ninkasi, Oakshire to name a few.

If you like wine, there are several wineries in town or close to it Sarvers is a favorite- it's a bit outside of town. Terratorial Winery is in town and is fun. Has music on the weekend.
Theres a few ideas. Let me know if you need more.

5alive

Tom Fuller and Sunbum gave you all the highlights I was thinking of.. the McKenzie, the Eugene River Walk, Skinner Butte, SilverSFalls. My only other idea is a day trip to Florence at the beach.

Also we've eaten at the McMenamins on the Willamette--called the North Bank Pub. Nice setting if you eat outside.

BBQboy.....thanks for the compliment. I'm definitely not a guy though

bbqboy

I shall note that you're not a guy!