What you need to know about reservations for the boat tour.
https://secure.xanterra.net/forms/pu...er_volcano.php
Xanterra also runs the Lodge for the Park Service.
Be sure that the boat tours have started for the year before you get to the park and are disappointed.
In years with more snow than we have had this winter, boat tours have started as late as June 29.
If you find that the north entrance is open and you want to use it, you can take Rt. 230 up to Diamond Lake Junction to get to 138 near Diamond Lake.

However, if you do not connect to 138 until you get to Diamond Lake- you will have missed the most scenic part of the route and all the waterfalls.

annalynn says she was surprised at the beauty of this route. I think many Oregonians are surprised too. I lived here for years, zipping up and down the Hwy without stopping and then a couple of years ago, went on a hiking trip in that area. It made a believer out of me. Love this area and many of the hikes are easy, short distances - you can do several in just one day.

If you do want to stop at Diamond Lake, you can rent bikes at the store and ride around the lake on an easy trail. Sometimes the mosquitos are really bad there- incentive to ride fast, but wild flowers and mountain views.

OK, we'll add Rt 138 from Roseburg to Crater Lake to the "must do" list. Thanks so much!

Hi dcd,
How'd you like the "A Nose for Wine" tour?
Thinking about it for September.

Thank you!

MJ, we had a great time with Fred. Will hire him again when we go back, assuming he's still doing these tours. Here's my TA review:

<i>Based on the reviews here, I booked Fred for a one day tour of some Willamette Valley wineries. This was our first time to Oregon.

"Wow" is probably the best way to describe him. We were with him from 10-6 and enjoyed every minute.

He's very personable, a non-smoker, and extremely knowledgeable about the wine industry. He had prepared a package of useful materials for us which greatly enhanced our understanding of what we were about to experience.

We went to 6 wineries, all of whom knew Fred, which helped us in many ways, including discounts on purchases. And no, it's not like he only suggests his friends' wineries. I threw him a curve shortly before our tour and added two wineries and sure enough, both knew him well. He's truly an "insider" who has the respect of the owners and managers.

For lunch, he'll email you a menu from a local Deli and have you select what you want. He picked it up en route to picking us up, and we had a nice picnic at one of the wineries. The food was excellent. Lunch was a very nice touch (and included in his fee).

He does all the little things, too, which again speaks volumes of him. For instance, he picked grapes from his home vineyard and brought them for us to sample. At some of the wineries, he'd walk over to the grapes, tell us what they were, and have us pick some (without needing to ask for permission) so we could sample them. What a treat! (We toured in late August following an unusually hot summer when harvest was imminent.) Unbeknownst to us, he brought a 12 bottle shipping container in case we needed one (we did!!), and that turned out to be very handy. No extra charge. He took pictures of us without having to be prompted. Etc, etc. He's just so thoughtful.

He said he avoids doing tours on the busy tourist days, like Saturdays, because it's too crazy and detracts from the experience, so if I were you, I'd be flexible with your schedule to increase the chance you can book him. Trust me, you won't regret it. If we come back, and we hope to one day, Fred will get the first call/email.</i>