Crater Peak is located in central Oregon, within Crater Lake National Park. Since Crater Peak is well south of the rim of Crater Lake, there are no views of the lake itself. As a result, the trail sees fairly little traffic, especially considering it’s within a national park. This makes Crater Peak a good choice for those seeking relative solitude.

My family and I had spent the prior day exploring Crater Lake, and I had a window of time to work with in the morning before we continued our road trip. With many of the peaks around the rim still closed due to snow, I settled on Crater Peak as my destination.

With an early start, I was on my feet and hiking by 6:30am from the Vidae Creek picnic area. I crossed a few lingering snowdrifts, and then followed the trial up to the ridge. The shady trail then followed Vidae Ridge south toward Crater Peak. Thanks to mostly flat hiking, I made good time for the next couple miles until the grade steepened just north of the summit. At this point the trail went into a thick forest, and curled steeply up and around the west side of the peak until reaching the summit.

I made it to the summit just after sunrise, and was rewarded with some great morning views of the Wood River Valley to the south. I sat on the summit for quite a while, having a snack and enjoying the views. Soon enough, it was time to head back and I retraced my path back to the trailhead. Round trip was just under 7 miles, 1300’ gain in 2.5 hours. It had been a nice morning in the mountains.

Map of the route, just under 7 miles and 1300' gain round trip.	Early view from just north of Tutuni Pass.	Typical trail conditions along Vidae Ridge.	Sunrise reflecting on the trees.	Headed through the dense forest section.
Coming out of the trees on the west side of Crater Peak.	Crater Peak summit benchmark.	View southwest from the summit of Crater Peak.	Mount Scott to the northeast.	Final view from the summit before heading down.
Map of the route, just under 7 miles and 1300' gain round trip.Early view from just north of Tutuni Pass.Typical trail conditions along Vidae Ridge.Sunrise reflecting on the trees.Headed through the dense forest section.Coming out of the trees on the west side of Crater Peak.Crater Peak summit benchmark.View southwest from the summit of Crater Peak.Mount Scott to the northeast.Final view from the summit before heading down.