Tourist's Guide to Two of the Most Scenic National Parks in Oregon

As with all of Ken Burns' documentaries, the subjects he tackles are vast and can't always give vital details on every single place or person. Burns' newest PBS documentary "The National Parks: U.S.'s Great Idea" is no exception considering America has 158 national parks that most people won't be able to visit in a lifetime. But if Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon usually get mentioned in first breath or extensive detail, those familiar with the NW U.S. won't hesitate to tell you to make a detour into Oregon where five breathtaking national parks exist. If you saw Burns' documentary, you would have noticed mention of Oregon's stunning Crater Lake, yet only scant mention of its details and what you can do there.

From Fort Clatsop at the northern point of Oregon to the Oregon Caves at the southern point of Oregon, you can see all five of these parks in less than a couple of days. Although I suggest taking in one at a time and assimilating each since they all have ambiance-rich lodges to stay in along with profound scenery and history to equal the profundity of peering into the Grand Canyon.

For the remainder of this article, I'll take you to two of the best national parks on both the north and south ends of Oregon--with a number of marked differences...

Crater Lake National Park

If you saw parts two and three of Ken Burns' "National Parks", then you saw brief mentions of Crater Lake in southern Oregon and how conservationist par-excellence President Theodore Roosevelt designated it a national park in 1902. It was Oregon's first official national park, though has always been a challenging place to visit if you don't get there in the summertime. Obviously, the biggest challenge is attempting to get there in the winter months when it gets socked in with deep snow. This doesn't stop many tourists from going there anyway to ski in the area. The biggest appeal, however, is driving around Crater Lake, and that's impossible from roughly October until March.

It's the same situation in hiking the extensive trails near there, unless you're into cross country skiing. That's why the summer months are the best time to visit so you can enjoy one of the wonders of the world: The color of the lake itself.

Most people who've only heard of Crater Lake are likely aware that it's one of the bluest lakes in the world. The blue looks so pristine during the peak of summer that more than a few tourists have used the adjective of unreal as a descriptor. Also thanks to nature, it's the deepest lake in the United States at close to 2,000 ft.

No, that's one deep end of a pool you won't be swimming in.

Never will there be a day when the U.S. Government will allow a single soul to take a dip into Crater Lake. It's the trails around the area, though, that were made specifically for people to walk in to their leg pain's delight. Most people aren't going to be able to walk all of it in one trip considering all the trails equal more than a hundred miles. If you're there for just a day or two, a few immediate trails should be considered if you can handle hiking two or three miles:

Mount Scott Trail: This trail is usually the most-traveled of any in the park, despite being mostly an uphill hike. Be sure you know in advance whether you have a healthy heart since you'll be climbing to the highest peak of the park at 2 ½ miles in distance. You'll inarguably get the best variety of scenery offered in the park on this trail.

Godfrey Glen Trail: A trail that's a little easier to handle at only one-mile long, yet provides a mixture of lush forest and the volcanic scenery you'll encounter in areas around the park, including at The Pinnacles and the island of Phantom Ship. Thank it all for being there, because there wouldn't be a Crater Lake without its once violent eruption.

If you can't walk these trails, then consider the most popular alternative: Rim Drive. This is the extensive driving trail going around the lake where you can park at outlooks along the way for contemplation, photography, a bite to eat (of your own) or all three at once.

Of course, you're going to be tired after doing even a quarter of this, so I recommend at least a one-night stay in the rustic Crater Lake Lodge. It's a little pricy, though the low end runs around $129 for a basic room. Yes, other appealing lodges dot the area nearby and outside the confines of the lake. Yet the Crater Lake Lodge has the best ambiance of them all and can allow you a view of the lake from there.

Should you be brave enough to camp out in extremely-fortified nature, the park also offers camping grounds--albeit and unsurprisingly only in summer months.

Lewis & Clark National Historical Park

On the other end of the spectrum both in time spent, location and being open year-round is the national park celebrating the land Lewis & Clark (and company) discovered over 200 years ago. It's also the newest designated national park, despite being under government control for the last 50 years. 2004, though, was the year it was listed as an official national park along with an expansion of the experiences you can have there.

Prior to the expansion, the centerpiece of this park land on the northern Oregon Coast is the beach town of Seaside where Fort Clatsop is, the original camping site of Lewis & Clark during the winter of 1805-06. The fort is a replica (rebuilt in recent years after fire burned a prior replica), but within close proximity to the original location. Here, and in Cape Disappointment Park on the Washington side, you can get guided tours or interact on your own with the surroundings to get a realistic idea of being part of the Lewis & Clark expedition.

Despite the entirety of Lewis & Clark National Park now stretching 40 miles through a dozen different parks, the better bet is to stay right there near Fort Clatsop to take some exciting one-day excursions into nature and into the Columbia River. The Fort to Sea trail, not far from Fort Clatsop, gives you a chance to walk a nature trail that extends down to Sunset Beach, a beautiful beach outside of Seaside.

But the true highlight is the unusually-titled Columbia Water Trail that allows you to take the same excursion along the Columbia River where Lewis & Clark traveled to unprecedented and profound natural discovery. Nonetheless, because it's 146 miles travailing this water trail, it's best to launch off at Netul Landing and take the 1 ½ mile River Trail by kayak or paddle boat. Yes, they gave those subtle differences in title based on an endurance match to that of Lewis & Clark's.

Visiting this part of the park can be done in one day and gives you a good starting point at the north tip of Oregon for visiting the other national parks here. That includes the John Day Fossil Beds in Eastern Oregon and the Oregon Caves Monument in the southern tip of the state.

Additional resources for both Crater Lake and Lewis & Clark National Park:

http://www.crater.lake.national-park.com/

http://www.nps.gov/lewi/index.htm