After this summer, anybody who wants to take to the waters of Oregon’s Crater Lake, whether as a swimmer or on a bout tour, is in for a long wait.
Cleetwood Cove Trail, the only legal way to access the deepest lake in the United States, is being closed for extensive repairs starting in 2026, according to a press release from the National Park Service. The trail won’t reopen until the project’s completion. If all goes as planned, that will be in time for summer 2029.
In the interim, “no boat tours will be provided and the trail will be closed due to construction and rockfall hazards,” according to the release. Crater Lake National Park will remain otherwise open during the project.
Park officials confirmed to SFGate, however, that “all access to the lake will be cut off, leaving visitors with only panoramic viewpoints where you can scan [the water] from above.”
So the road that encircles the lake’s elevated rim, with its scenic pullouts, will remain open at Crater Lake National Park, and other hiking trails will be accessible. But visitors won’t be able to take the popular 1.1-mile hike down to the lakeshore and jump into the frigid water or board boat tours launching from Cleetwood Cove Marina.
As USA Today points out, attempts to reach the water by other means—such as descending the surrounding cliffs—are not permitted and, in fact, are dangerous, resulting in accidents and rescues in previous years.
The planned work will “rehabilitate the trail and related infrastructure to ensure safe access to the lake, provide needed visitor services, and to protect the environment,” per the park service.
The renovation will take such a long time because of the short construction season in the area, where winters typically involve heavy snowfall.
So if you want to get in or on Crater Lake before the decade is out, your only remaining chances are the summer of 2025 and, if you’re lucky, 2029.
For more information about planning a visit to Crater Lake National Park—including important details about other closures resulting from recent wildfires—go to nps.gov/crla.
And for help finding out what’s open and what’s closed at U.S. national parks amid the chaos unleashed by the Trump administration, see our recent advice for any would-be parkgoer.
