Page 48 - Southern Oregon Magazine Winter 2020

Crater Lake National Park, Klamath County, Oregon

Mazama Rocks. We’re also looking at a multimodal type transportation
trail from Mazama Village near the Park entrance to the Crater Lake
rim that might be multi-use for walkers and cyclists. Munson Valley is a
spectacular area of old growth and wildflowers. Most people drive by it
and never even know it’s there.

As the snow levels rise due to warming, Crater Lake is getting more
and more winter visits. With increasing visitation, it’s tough to find a
parking place on winter weekends. There is enough demand to justify
modifying some of the facilities, particularly in Mazama Village, for win-
ter operations. There could be overnight lodging, cross-country skiing,
and snowshoe nature walks.

Q – WHAT ARE YOUR DREAMS FOR CRATER LAKE
NATIONAL PARK?
CRAIG – The dream is to manage the park in a way that can provide
wonderful experiences to as many people as possible without diminish-
ing those experiences because we’ve over-promoted or overdeveloped
it. Is there room to grow? Probably, but you can only get so many cars
on so many miles of road. The solution isn’t to build more roads and
more parking areas. The long-term solution is to look at it comprehen-
sively and come up with better ideas to manage the number of people
rather than just building more facilities. Crater Lake National Park is
not just a photograph of a pretty lake, but a spectacular collection of
resources that represents a remarkable national treasure.

www.nps.gov/crla
www.tnp.si/en/learn
whc.unesco.org/en/list/911

46 www.southernoregonmagazine.com | winter 2020