I have been to Crater Lake National Park several times, but never in the winter time. It has always been on my “list” of places to go and things to do here in my home state of Oregon. As usual, I have to take things just one step further; I have always wanted to snowshoe around its entire 37 mile (60 km) length in the winter time. Now keeping in mind that Crater Lake gets, on average, 44 feet ( 13.4 meters) of snow each year, I knew this was not going to be easy; especially with a bum foot.

I loaded up the car with the necessary goodies, including excellent company in the form of my friend Michelle. Now, Michelle is from Australia and has never seen the magnitude of 44 feet of snow. Well, maybe she has, but just not piled up all at once in one place as beautiful as Crater Lake. I think nothing is more fun than seeing something familiar through the eyes of others. I was not disappointed. Now, just so I don’t embarrass her, we will just say she was excited; very excited. Like “new toy at Christmas” excited. Like “Jack Russell terrier” excited. Like “pull over I think I am going to pee my pants” excited. What surprised me most was not that she was so excited, but by what she was so giddy about. I expected the grandeur of an imploded volcano, beautiful scenery, lots of snow, or maybe even the company she kept would be the source of her effluence. As with many things in life, I was mistaken.

What really stirred her up was Union Creek Resort. I almost missed it as I was cruising down the two lane road, but as soon as we both saw it, we knew we had to stop. This gem of a location is set just a little off the road as you are making your way up towards Crater Lake on Highway 62. This stretch of road is usually open year round, which makes Union Creek Resort the closest lodging and amenities to Oregon National Park in the winter time. When we made our way into the lodge, the warmth of a wood interior, fire in the stove, and great hospitality greeted us. We were really taken with the place and decided to book a room.

One of the owners, Scott was behind the desk with his precarious two year old, Jenna who is just one of those kids that steals your heart. Scott and his wife Heidi came out from Colorado just this past summer in search of something we all dream of; living and working doing something you love with your family by your side. In roaming around the property, you can see what drew his attention. He has 20 cabins and 9 rooms in the lodge that offer a variety of combinations of amenities for your stay. Across the street is Beckie’s Café (also open year round), which is notorious locally for their selection of homemade pies of which I can attest are some of the best I have eaten. The Ice Cream Shoppe is also there to keep you supplied with enough a la mode for your huckleberry pie.

Scott says that Crater Lake isn’t the only thing that draws people to the area. With over 150 miles of multi-use trails, fishing or rafting on the Rogue River, hiking up and around Crater Lake, and winter-time fun (snowshoeing), he doesn’t expect to get a break for a while. So much of what makes this place fantastic is not only the exceptional location, stunning scenery, or wonderful amenities…it is the warmth of feeling genuinely welcomed from the moment you step inside. That, my friends, is something that is rare in this world.

Oh yeah, we did go snowshoeing. It was great, but the pitcher of local beer, a toasty fireplace, and some huckleberry pie a la mode is what really made the trip. If you want to check out the location for yourself, then head over to my SPOT page and look for Track #11 in Union Creek.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 at 10:09 am and is filed under Primal Quest, Todd Phillips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.