Back to the Coast after a Disappointing Visit to Crater Lake National Park (National Parks Trip #3)

This post represents another installment in the series documenting our West Coast National Parks trip in the summer of 2017.  Alan and I, along with our 18 year old daughter, Kyra, logged a total of 8,513 memorable miles of adventure over the course of five and a half weeks during the months of July and August.

Whenever we visit a National Park, our preference is to camp within the park itself – assuming there’s a campground that will accommodate our 32’ travel trailer.  On this trip, though, we had planned a one day visit to Crater Lake, and it seemed like it was more trouble than it was worth to haul the trailer all the way east to the National Park for just two nights.  So, I decided to look for a campground west of Crater Lake, trading a longer drive on the actual day of our visit for a shorter one during which we’d be towing the trailer.  It wasn’t ideal but, as with any trip of this magnitude, concessions were inevitable.  As it turned out, this particular concession proved to be beneficial.

I had initially identified Valley of the Rogue State Park in Gold Hill, Oregon, as a potential base camp.  Unfortunately, the more reviews I read, the more comments I saw about road noise from I-5 which abutted the park.  When our day is jam-packed with activities, restful sleep on the preceding night becomes more important to our physical and mental health.  Since we’re generally early to bed and early to rise, I didn’t want to take a chance on traffic noise keeping us awake.  I was disappointed because Valley of the Rogue is located right on the Rogue River.  It really sounded like our kind of place.  When my research led me to Griffin Park in Grants Pass, it became apparent that this small, lovely county park (also on the Rogue River!) was a perfect choice.  At nearly 30 miles farther west from Crater Lake than Valley of the Rogue State Park, Griffin Park made for a longer drive to and from the National Park.   But it was a sweet little campground, and I really wish we had booked more than just two nights there.

Griffin Park - a county park in Grants Pass, Oregon

So, why was camping outside Crater Lake National Park a beneficial concession?   Note the clean and clear air in the photo above.  Now, note the not so clean and clear air in the photo below.

A barely visible Wizard Island in Crater Lake

When Alan and I had first visited Crater Lake National Park decades ago, we had a perfectly clear blue sky day.  The lake’s water was an extraordinary blue, and the green trees were crisply outlined against a sky of lighter blue.  Unfortunately, a wildfire in the area of Crater Lake at the time of this visit impacted the park’s scenic views quite severely.  I felt particularly bad for Kyra, since this was her first (and, to-date, only) visit to Crater Lake.  If you’ve been to this National Park, you know how stunning the views of the lake, Wizard Island and the Phantom Ship can be.  Not so on that day.  In fact, while we were there, the Park Rangers were dealing with one visitor who was having a difficult time coping with the amount of smoke in the air.  She was in a panic, insisting that she needed to get out of the park immediately, as the Rangers were making valiant efforts to calm her down and assure her that she wasn’t in any imminent danger.

Sadly, this was one of my clearest shots of the lake.

We did spend the day touring Crater Lake National Park and picnicking on its grounds, but it was definitely one of my least favorite days on the trip.  Anyone who lives in the west or travels there knows that wildfires are one of those wild cards that can wreak havoc with the best laid plans.  We swallowed our disappointment, pulled up our big kid pants and continued on.

That was Day #23 of our expedition.  After another restful night at Griffin Park, we headed back to the coast on Day #24.  Our destination for that night was Fort Stevens State Park, at the very northwest tip of Oregon.  But tucking ourselves in at Fort Stevens was a distant thought as we hit the coast.  We had a very special activity planned in Florence but, first, we needed to find a good spot to stop for lunch.

The South Jetty Beach #6 was absolutely perfect.  The beaches along the South Jetty are part of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.  Off-road vehicles are allowed on some of the beaches here, and not on others.  So, if you want a quiet place to enjoy some solitude, you can find it.  But, if you’re looking for a little outdoor adventure, you can find that, as well.  Beach #6 was nearly at the end of Sand Dunes Road where the Siuslaw River meets the Pacific Ocean.

What are the chances of the only two trailers in the lot being Jayco Jay Flights?

A wide parking area at Beach #6 allowed us a gorgeous view of the Siuslaw River out our dinette window, so we didn’t have to work hard to enjoy “lunch with a view.”   Just a short walk over the dunes on the other side of the parking area brought us to one of the most captivating beaches along the coast that I’ve ever seen.  The dunes were begging to be photographed and the sand was soft and white.  Fog along the coast prevented our photos from capturing the true charm of this quiet beach, but I’d go back for a walk along that sand in a heartbeat any day.

South Jetty Beach #6

Once we had lunch under our belts, we continued up Route 101 to C & M Stables in Florence.  All of us had been eagerly anticipating horseback riding along the beach and we happily saddled up.  This was one of the activities that Kyra had been particularly excited about; it was heartwarming to see her grinning through much of the ride.  Would a beautiful, sunny day have made the ride a bit more pleasurable?  Absolutely!  But the experience was one to treasure despite the foggy conditions, so no complaints here.  Back at C & M Stables, we bid a fond farewell to our horses and, once again, turned north on Route 101 for the four-hour drive up the coast to Fort Stevens State Park. 

Alan on the left, Kyra on the right

Fort Stevens is another one of Oregon’s magnificent State Parks right on the ocean.  With the old bones of a shipwreck resting on the beach in the park, it makes for a fascinating stop, but I have mixed feelings about the campground at Fort Stevens.  On one hand, the campground is large, well-maintained and well-managed.  On the other, the sites – at least in the loop we were in – were tight and closely spaced.  It turned out to be one of my least favorite campgrounds, despite the fact that it was in such an excellent location.  I would definitely visit Fort Stevens again, but I’m not sure I would camp there.

The wreck of the Peter Iredale has been on the beach at Fort Stevens for more than 100 years.

These three tired travelers tucked themselves in for a good night’s sleep at Fort Stevens, knowing that the next day would be our last on the Oregon coast.  It was a day of exploration that we were all happily looking forward to – and dreading at the same time.  It’s not easy leaving a place you’ve come to love.

I’m going to pause the recounting of our West Coast National Parks trip yet again, but for good reason!  Alan and I have some very big news to share – something about which we’re incredibly excited.  This summer, we’ll be embarking on our most extensive, most challenging (for planning purposes) expedition ever – a five-month cross-country journey that will take us through Canada and on into Alaska (and, hopefully, safely home).  Because there’s no way I’d ever be able to draft five months’ of posts ahead of time and schedule them for publication, I’m going to break with tradition and attempt to post from the road.  Notice the word “attempt.”  I can’t guarantee that my upcoming posts will be in real time, but I figure that even a slight delay is better than five months’ of radio silence.  Come along with us on our RV adventure of a lifetime!