Builder I
Situated in the El Dorado National Forest, Crater Lake was a fun day trip (about 2.5 hours) from the Sacramento area. I took this trip in June with my cousin and his family. We drove up in his vehicles and explored the area hiking with our kids.
Alpine Mine Road leads to Crater Lake and is west of Highway 88 (gpx attached). It’s a short 2.2 mile trip back to the lake. The road had ruts and loose rocks to deal with when we were on it. I would rate it as Easy-2 using the OB rating system. Beyond getting to the lake, if you explore some of the off-shooting roads, you will find some terrain up to Moderate-3.
If you explore those roads north of the lake, you will find an old mine camp.
While we were hiking, we also found some old mine shafts.
There is a ridgeline just above the old mine camp that offers great views. You can see Steven’s Peak (10,043 ft) in the picture below.
This was a fun day trip for the family, and it could even be a nice camping trip to stay by the lake and explore some of the surrounding areas.
GPX viewer
Alpine Mine Road leads to Crater Lake and is west of Highway 88 (gpx attached). It’s a short 2.2 mile trip back to the lake. The road had ruts and loose rocks to deal with when we were on it. I would rate it as Easy-2 using the OB rating system. Beyond getting to the lake, if you explore some of the off-shooting roads, you will find some terrain up to Moderate-3.
If you explore those roads north of the lake, you will find an old mine camp.
While we were hiking, we also found some old mine shafts.
There is a ridgeline just above the old mine camp that offers great views. You can see Steven’s Peak (10,043 ft) in the picture below.
This was a fun day trip for the family, and it could even be a nice camping trip to stay by the lake and explore some of the surrounding areas.
GPX viewer
