Crater Lake and Redwoods

In July 2025, I made it a third of the way through the national parks. I was super proud of this. There are 63 national parks, and it is one of my life goals to visit all of the national parks. I started this journey in 2021 with one of my friends. She and I joked that we would hit up all the national parks together. Unfortunately we’re not doing this journey together anymore. We’re still good friends just living different lives. She has a man and a house in Miami, and I have been to 28 national parks so far. I went camping while visiting Crater Lake and Redwoods. I hit up these two national parks because I knew that Cleetwood Cove trail in Crater Lake was going to close for 3 years for trail renovations. This trail is the only access to swim in Crater Lake. At Crater Lake, I stayed at Mazama Village Campground. I showed up around 11 am to wait in line for a campsite. They have a few campsites that are first come first serve basis that open up at 12 pm the day of. The sites are $38 a night.

Day 1 I hiked the Pinnacles trail. This trail is an easy 0.8 mile trail. This trail shows the final eruption of Mount Mazama and is full of volcanic spires. The fun fact though was I wasn’t supposed to be able to get to this trail. In July there are still trails and roads that are closed due to snow and ice being left over from the winter. This is hard to believe considering the entire time temps were in the 80s and the mosquitoes were off the charts. So I definitely looked like a tomato with chickenpox so I recommend bringing bug spray and sunscreen. I managed to find an old fire road that led to the other side of the trail because the main road that led to the trail was still closed due to the snow and ice. This road was an old dirt road and there was no cell service on this road. On the way back I had to trust my muscle memory to get me back which if you know me you know I’m extremely directionally challenged. Shout out to Google Maps for always taking me on the scenic route.

Afterwards, I hiked Discovery Point trail because some of the trails I wanted to try were closed. This trail is 2.1 miles and easy with little elevation change. This trail takes you along the rim of Crater Lake. The views of Crater Lake are absolutely breathtaking. It was a perfect day for hiking.

Day 2 I hiked the Sun Notch Trail. This trail is 0.8 mile in length and shows you views of Phantom Ship Island. You can’t see this island anywhere else in the park except this trail. Then I drove along Crater Rim drive and took photos at some of the overlooks.

Now comes the main attraction of Crater Lake hiking down Cleetwood Cove Trail. This trail is considered hard due to the elevation gain on the way back up. It is 2.2 miles round trip with a 700 feet elevation change. The way down is pretty easy. I ended up hiking down with another girl. Once you get to the bottom you can go swimming in the designated parameter of the lake. I thought they would have a bathroom for me to change at the bottom, but I couldn’t find one so changing into a swimsuit got a little interesting.

The girl who hiked down with me was a huge blessing. She helped shield me while I changed against a rock and held up my towel. It was a memorable experience for sure. I kept bumping against the rock which was ridiculously hot because temps were creeping up to 90 degrees F. If you can imagine I kept saying, “Oh crap, jeez this is hotter than Satan’s armpit. Well that’s one way to burn the fat off.” This total stranger and I were dying laughing. The entire time I’m trying to keep people from seeing the goods for free. I finally managed to change then as soon as I stepped my foot in the water, I said “Holy crap, that’s cold!” The water temp was around 55 degrees F that day. Eventually you get used to the temperature. I found out after we got out and walked around that there was actually a bathroom. I’m thinking, “Well that’s what I get for not investigating hard enough.” On the way back up I saw people carrying coolers down. My brain was saying, “Bless your heart. Y’all are gonna regret that real quick on the way back up them switchbacks.”

At the end of the day, I wanted to catch some sunset views before leaving for the Redwoods the next morning. The sunset here was beautiful with so many colors. The way the sun reflected over the lake was just magical.

Day 3 I made it a third of the way through the national parks. I hit up my 21st national park, Redwoods. Redwoods National Park was so wild and beautiful. It was so crazy to me see trees that huge. It’s mind boggling, and your neck feels like it’s craning for days just to see the top. I stayed at Crescent City/Redwoods KOA Holiday for 3 nights. The cost was $39 a night. At KOAs you have access to showers, laundry facilities, a game room, and firewood. They are also pretty family friendly.

One of the cool things about Redwoods is one minute you’re in the forest and the next you’re near the beach. I stopped along the beach and walked around. The beach definitely gave Twilight vibes for sure.

Many of the trails at Redwoods intersect so you can do more than one trail at a time if you want to hike for longer. I combined Knapp, Big Tree, and Cathedral trails together for a 3 mile hike.

Day 4 I started the morning off with hiking Lady Bird Johnson Grove Trail. This trail is 1.5 miles round trip. I hiked early in the morning, and I watched the sun shine through the trees. It was so quiet and peaceful during this time.

After, I did a short walk on the Stout Memorial Grove Trail. This trail is 0.5 mile in length and takes you on a bridge over Smith River.

One of my favorite trails in Redwoods was the Boy Scout Tree Trail. This trail is 5.5 miles round trip, and also takes you to see a small waterfall called Fern Falls. I will admit Fern Falls wasn’t that impressive. I think it had to do with the fact that not enough snow had melted. There was some water streaming down but not a ton. Once you get to this trail there is limited parking and also no RVs are allowed on this road due to the fact that is a dirt road with multiple sections of it being practically one lane.

Day 5 I hiked to Fern Canyon. Fern Canyon is actually featured in Jurassic Park. Fern Canyon was probably my number one favorite hike in Redwoods. It was so cool, and once you get inside the canyon it definitely feels like you’re in dinosaur times. Fern Canyon is 9.2 miles round trip if you hike to it from James Irvine Trail. There is another trail that is much shorter but you have to reserve a spot at the parking lot online because it fills up fast. I wasn’t able to score a spot which ending up being fine with me because I was looking forward to a long hike.

I made one more pit stop to Klamath Overlook. This trail is 0.9 miles in length. This overlook shows you beautiful views of the Klamath River where it meets the Pacific Ocean. There was quite a bit of fog that day so I wasn’t able to see everything at the viewpoint.

Day 6 I did one last hike before making my way back to the airport. I hiked Mill Creek Trail which is 6.2 miles round trip. This trail takes you through the Grove of Titans. These trees are some of the tallest trees in the park.

On the way to the airport I took a detour on the Pacific Coast Highway. I highly recommend doing this. I want to go back and do the full road trip one day. The views on this highway are incredible. There are multiple points you can pull off and take photos of gorgeous views. There are also cute small towns along the way with great local places to eat.