See Crater Lake National Park, Diamond Lake, and Bend in just three days!

On the way back from our Oregon Coast camping road trip we drove diagonally across the state to check out the mesmerizing Crater Lake and stop in Bend. This National Park is definitely worth a visit — it’s the deepest lake in the United States and the water is so clear and bright blue. We stayed nearby at Diamond Lake campground, which has beautiful lake-front campsites and hosts a variety of water activities. On our journey home, we couldn’t resist stopping in Bend for some river surfing.

ROGUE RIVER

I highly recommend stopping at the Rogue River Gorge Viewpoint in Prospect, Oregon, which is on the road to Crater Lake.  This is a nice rest stop with bathrooms and a short trail to a volcanic river, which is partially hidden. We found this area to be really interesting and worth exploring.

CRATER LAKE NATIONAL PARK

Crater Lake National Park has many hikes available, and we planned to try Watchman (1.8 miles) or Garfield Peak (3.4 miles), but just driving the Crater Lake Scenic Rim (33 miles) and stopping at various viewpoints took most of the day, and we didn’t get to either hike. However, driving the rim is a great adventure, and there are so many places to stop and admire the lake or take photos. There is also a boat that goes out on the water for a few hours, which could be a good way to experience the park as well. Near the Watchman trailhead is an especially good pull-off area for photos. One of the restaurants at Crater Lake did offer a Beyond Burger, but vegan options are limited inside the park. Our dog was allowed to enter the park, but required to stay in the car except for the dog-friendly trails. We hiked the dog-friendly 1.2-mile Godfrey Glen trail on our way out, which was a pleasant walk through mountain hemlocks and shasta red firs. 

DIAMOND LAKE CAMPGROUND

We lucked out with campsite E003, it was directly on the lake and an incredible view. We really enjoyed just relaxing at our campsite, but Diamond Lake Resort does offer paddle boards or boat rentals as well. There are hikes at Diamond Lake too, but we ended up mostly just walking around the campground and enjoying the views of the lake there. The campground host for Diamond Lake Campground was extremely hospitable, knowledgeable, and kind. There is also a small store, and the resort has a restaurant and bar as well. The area is remote, so I suggest bringing groceries and charging your vehicle or getting gas before you go. There is a small gas station, but it was about $2/more per gallon than we were used to. Unfortunately, our campsite neighbors constantly ran their generator, which did detract from our experience. Additionally, this campsite gets quite cold at night, so be prepared with layers and warm bedding, even in August.

BEND

This outdoor-centric city is always a fun getaway, so we planned to stop for some river surfing on our way back. The line is always long, so you may only get a few chances to surf the wave in an hour. Even late morning on a weekday was busy for this area. Afterward, we ate lunch outside at Miyagi Ramen (which is my all-time favorite vegan ramen). We do want to try some of the Cascade Lakes hikes/trails on our next trip. We’ve also enjoyed skiing and snowboarding at Mt. Bachelor and the local Bend skateparks are quite good too. If you’re camping there are Snoparks near the resort, but we’ve also enjoyed staying at LOGE Bend. Hablo Tacos is our other favorite Bend eatery — they have delicious margarita pitchers and very good (spicy!) vegan tacos.