Cleetwood Cove trail is the only trail that goes down to the shore of Crater Lake, and thus it is also the most popular trail within Crater Lake National Park. The Cleetwood Cove trail is located on the North side of Crater Lake. It is about 2.2 miles round trip with decent elevation gain. This trail typically gives hikers a work out when coming back up. This trail is also a must do if you want to go on a boat tour or go to Wizard Island because the boarding point is at the bottom of the trail.
We got to the trailhead around 11AM in the morning and there were not that many cars there. We also noticed that the parking lot has been expanded since 5 years ago to accommodate twice as many cars. Since there was not boat tour service during the pandemic time, the rest room at the cove was also closed, but this did not stop people from going down to enjoy the Crater Lake water.
The trail descends at a constant pace. We could see the lake on the side all the time as we hike down. One thing good about this trail is that it is covered by shades due to all the large trees on the side. This helped to keep our body cool and not exposed to the glaring sun.
As we hiked down, we saw a girl fell and crying. We felt really sorry but there was a nice guy providing first aid kit to bandaid the girl's wound.
We finally got to the bottom after 30 minutes and there were already so many people there enjoying the fun in the water. People were jumping off the cliff into the water and swimming. There were also people fishing there but just have to keep in mind to only use artificial lures.
We climbed down to get close to the water and the water was not as cold as we thought. We took off our shoes and dipped our feet in it. It felt so good. We stared right down into the water and it was so blue. The colour of the water was so blue that it was kind of scary. It was hard to tell how deep it really was.
After about an hour enjoy the water, we headed back up the trail. Climbing back up was more difficult with constant climb. However, we actually climbed back to the top without taking a rest in between.
This is definitely a must visit place when visiting Crater Lake. This is the only place to get your hands into the water and feel how pure the water really is.
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