There’s something magical about Crater Lake. It’s grand, it’s massive and it’s absolutely beautiful with the rim towering over the deep blue water below. We set out to explore Garfield Peak and we came back the very opposite of disappointed.
- Distance: 7 mi / 11 km
- Time: 4.5 hours
- Elevation gain: 1,700+ ft
- When we went: Jan 27, 2022; 11:00 am
- Conditions: No new snowfall, packed snow if not slightly icy.
- GPS for trail start: East Rim
- Can you ski back to the car?: Within 0.3 miles of it
- Route Finding Difficulty: Intermediate
- Physical Exertion Difficulty: Intermediate
- Map
Getting there: The beginning of the skin track simply follows the East Rim Drive. You can park at the Steel Visitor Center, or if it isn’t busy there’s also a little pull out that could fit 3-4 cars right where the skin track starts. Please note, don’t follow the summer hiking trail during the winter.
Once you’ve skinned up the Rim Road between 1.1-1.6 miles, feel free to turn left into the trees and start heading up. We went in at (1.1 mi), and ended up coming out at closer to the (1.6) mile mark. Looking back, I would have waited to turn left for a little longer to avoid the thicker trees and skin through more open meadows. When we went there was no skin track to follow, so make sure to have your directions handy!
You’ll continue up through trees and meadows and eventually pop out to a more open area where you’ll get your first glimpse of Applegate Peak. Garfield will be the peak to your left and Applegate will be the peak you can quickly see to your right. Continue up and start veering left to get to Garfield.
Once you get up to the rim, the views of the lake are absolutely stunning! Take a moment to take it all in!
The last section of the climb becomes steep, and crampons would be recommended to get to the true summit. If you don’t bring crampons, just stay a few hundred feet below the true summit, take in the views, have a snack and get ready to go down.
The ride down is nothing short of exciting! There is very little avalanche danger in this area, so it is a pretty safe spot to get started in your back country skills, although it is always encouraged to check local avalanche reports before heading out!
Choose your route down, making sure to stay close within reason to the way you came up. You will hit some open bowls and fields first, and then you will be into some trees, although they are not too tight in most places. When you hit the East Rim road, you may have to push a little, but if you keep your speed, you should be able to snowboard down the road all the way out to within 0.3 miles of your car or so.
Make sure to head up to the Rim Village Visitor Center and take in more views before heading out for the day. And hey, good job getting outside!
PROS:
- Snowboard almost the whole way back to your car.
- Low Avalanche Danger.
CONS:
- Need some route-finding skills, as there’s often no skin track.
- No views of the lake until you get up high along the rim.
THE SPLIT DECISION
Jay’s Take: “Any day at Crater Lake is amazing. To get to experience it in winter and add in snowboarding was just the icing on the cake. I was a little nervous starting out that I would have a hard time in the trees coming down on my snowboard as I’m new to snowboarding in backcountry settings. However, the trees were spread out and easy to wind through and it wasn’t too steep on the descent. The only real issue I had was the icy sections towards the summit but I survived.”
Tyese’s Take: “I loved this route! At first I was hesitant of where exactly to turn up through the trees, and I was worrying I wouldn’t get to see the lake, but both were not a concern as we got farther! Wish we would have brought our crampons so we could go up higher on the peak and get those sweet shots of snowboarding with the lake in the background! I’m stoked to bring friends back here.”
Final words: Remember that a national park pass is required to get into Crater Lake! You can buy them as you drive in.
