Hiking the Annie Creek Canyon Trail in Crater Lake National Park
Distance: 2.4 - 2.6 miles / 3.7 - 4.2 km
The Annie Creek Canyon Trail in Crater Lake National Park is a beautiful day hike near Mazama Village that descends from the Mazama Campground along the canyon rim to Annie Creek below.
Along the way, hikers will hike down a few steep switchbacks to the bottom of the canyon, where the trail then traverses a beautiful section of Annie Creek filled with wildflowers, before climbing back out near the southern end of the Mazama Campground.
Before arriving, be aware that there are two trailheads from which hikers can begin the Annie Creek Canyon Trail, but this article begins at the closer of the two trailheads to the start of the loop in Mazama Village.
Annie Creek Canyon Trailhead Parking
Parking for the Annie Creek Canyon Trail is located in one of two places, depending on which trailhead you choose to begin.
The first is Mazama Village, between the Annie Creek Restaurant and the Mazama Village Store. This is the most well-known starting point, but there is a lesser-known and much quieter trailhead located off Munson Valley Road, just outside Mazama Village, before the bridge across Annie Creek when driving north toward Crater Lake.
Google Maps Directions: Annie Creek Canyon Trailhead (Mazama Village) / Annie Creek Canyon Trailhead (Munson Valley Road)
Hiking Checklist - Crater Lake
Here is a complete list of must-have things that you will want for any hike in Crater Lake National Park.
That said, there are Black Bears in Crater Lake National Park, and while carrying bear spray is allowed, encounters with hikers are considerably rare.
Hiking the Annie Creek Canyon Trail
This is the Annie Creek Canyon Trail from the Mazama Village Trailhead, which is the shorter of the two routes to the start of the loop.
Alternatively, the Annie Creek Canyon Trail can begin from a lesser-known trailhead off Munson Valley Road, which adds about 0.2 miles (0.3 km) to the hike overall.
To skip ahead to the official Annie Creek Canyon Trail off Munson Valley Road, click here.
Shortly after leaving Mazama Village, the Annie Creek Canyon Trail crosses Mazama Village Entrance Road.
Annie Creek Canyon-Mazama Village Junction
After just 0.1 miles (0.2 km) on the Annie Creek Connector from Mazama Village, the trail meets the true Annie Creek Canyon Trail from Munson Valley Road.
Once here, go right to begin the Annie Creek Canyon Trail toward the start of the loop, about 0.2 miles (0.3 km) away.
This is where the Annie Creek Canyon Trail parallels the Mazama Campground, which is why hiking the loop is such a popular option among those staying in the campground.
Annie Creek Canyon Loop Trail
After 0.3 miles (0.5 km) from Mazama Village or 0.4 miles (0.6 km) from Munson Valley Road, the Annie Creek Canyon Trail reaches the start of the loop.
For those interested in hiking the loop in the same direction as the numbers for the interpretive trail, go right to follow along with the trail guides.
Regardless of the interpretive trail, I chose to go left in the clockwise direction because I personally enjoy a gradual downhill hike once at the bottom of Annie Canyon, as opposed to hiking upstream slowly from the other direction.
That said, this inevitably means the hike out will be steeper, but I prefer it this way to get all the elevation gain out of the way at once.
If you are interested in hiking in order, the first number can be found at the trailhead in the campground closest to the Mazama Amphitheater.
The nice thing about going down the switchbacks on the north side of the loop is that the descent moves very fast!
However, this also means that the switchbacks to climb back out on the south side are longer and steeper, since hiking the loop clockwise, as shown here, follows Annie Creek about 175 ft. (53 m) downstream.
Once along Annie Creek, hikers can enjoy countless different wildflower species, much like on the Castle Crest Wildflower Trail off East Rim Drive.
That said, it’s important to note that wildflowers in Crater Lake peak around mid to late July, when the deep seasonal snowmelt subsides.
Even though the steep walls of Annie Canyon can cast long shadows, I still recommend hiking in a hooded sun shirt to stay safe at these upper elevations—especially because one can be useful for countless different adventures across Crater Lake National Park.
This is the first of three bridges at the bottom of Annie Creek Canyon.
These long, straight stretches are some of my favorites to take photos along Annie Creek.
This is the third and final bridge across Annie Creek, and it’s where the steep ascent out of the canyon begins on the far side.
In total, the Annie Creek Canyon Loop climbs roughly 250 ft. (76 m) from the final creek crossing to the canyon rim on the south side of Mazama Campground.
This ascent on the south side of the loop is considerably longer than the north side, and it—along with the entire hilly trail—is why some hikers may want to carry trekking poles for Annie Creek Canyon, especially since many popular hikes around Crater Lake can be fairly steep, like the popular Cleetwood Cove Trail that descends to the lakeshore.
This is where the Annie Creek Loop reaches the rim of the canyon, meaning that, from this point on, the rest of the hike back to Mazama Village or Munson Valley Road is mostly flat.
Once the Annie Creek Canyon Trail reaches the canyon rim, there’s roughly 0.6 miles (1.0 km) left to reach the start of the loop.
This is the view looking toward Applegate Peak, with the much better-known Garfield Peak just to the left.
Annie Creek Canyon Canyon Trailhead (Mazama Campground)
With roughly 0.2 miles (0.3 km) before the beginning of the loop, the trail passes the Mazama Campground Trailhead, adjacent to the Mazama Amphitheater, which is a great trailhead to begin at if you happen to be staying in Mazama Campground.
In any case, go straight at this junction to complete the Annie Creek Canyon Trail and return to either Mazama Village or the trailhead off Munson Valley Road.
Annie Creek Canyon Loop Junction
This is the beginning of the Annie Creek Canyon Loop, shown at the beginning of this article.
That said, go straight once again to return to either trailhead.
Annie Creek Canyon Trailhead
This is the Annie Creek Canyon Trail, from the official trailhead off Munson Valley Road, sometimes referred to as the Annie Spring Canyon Trail.
For the most part, the Annie Creek Canyon Trail from Munson Valley Road is a very flat, easy, straightforward 0.2-mile (0.3 km) hike to the same junction that meets this route from Mazama Village, shown at the beginning.
Annie Creek Canyon-Mazama Village Junction
This is where the Annie Creek Canyon Trail meets the route from Mazama Village, shown at the beginning of this article.
That said, go left at this split to continue on the Annie Creek Canyon Trail toward the start of the loop.
To skip back to this same junction from the beginning of this article, click here.
