National Park Guide: Oregon's Crater Lake

— -- Visitors to Oregon's only national park can explore old-growth forest, bicycle a 33-mile cliff-top loop, fish for trout and salmon or hike 33 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail.

But the jewel of Crater Lake National Park is the lake itself.

"On a clear day, to see the blue sky and have the blue water is just so breathtaking," says Kim Faucher, a Medford, Ore., artist who visits regularly. "When people come and see the lake, they are just so astounded."

At 1,943 feet, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the USA and the seventh-deepest in the world. Fed only by rain and melting snow, it's also considered the cleanest. Visitors can take a guided boat tour around the lake, swim or dive its depths.

Most tourists come during the short summer season. But the park is open year-round and offers snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and camping. Park rangers lead hikes in the snow. "We are welcoming people even when there's 10 feet of snow on the ground," says Marsha McCabe, chief of interpretation for the park. "It's unlike any other place on Earth."

Repeat visitors say the changing nature of the park is one of its best features. "You can come here over and over again," Faucher says. "I always find something different."

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About the park

Size: 183,224 acres

Visitors: 423,551 in 2011

Established: 1902

History: Crater Lake was created by the eruption and collapse of Mount Mazama about 7,000 years ago. For centuries, Native Americans used it as a place for vision quests and prayer. It was discovered by Europeans in 1853, and received protection as part of the Cascade Range Forest Reserve in 1893.

When visiting: The park is about 250 miles south of Portland and 100 miles north of the California border. It has no physical address. The Steel Visitor Center, at park headquarters, is open year-round. Visitor info: 541-594-2211.

Of note: The park is one of the snowiest inhabited areas in America, with an average of 533 inches of snow annually.