Hiking the Discovery Point Trail in Crater Lake National Park
Distance (Roundtrip): 2.0 miles / 3.2 km
The Discovery Point Trail in Crater Lake National Park is a quick, easy, and beautiful day hike on the south side of the caldera rim that connects Rim Village with Discovery Point.
That said, the Discovery Point Trail is truly the introduction to the much longer and more involved Rim Trail—sometimes called the Crater Lake Rim Trail—which, if combined, would total about 9.6 miles (15.4 km) in all.
However, the Discovery Point Trail is much shorter and much more practical, and it’s an adventure that I often see as one of the best things to do in Crater Lake National Park, especially when hiked in the early morning hours.
I say this because early morning is when the best photos can be taken through the beautiful Hemlock trees that surround Crater Lake—not to mention that early in the day is typically when the winds are calmest—making for some of the most stunning, glassy, deep-blue photos of the lake toward Wizard Island!
Discovery Point Trailhead Parking
Parking for the Discovery Point Trail is located in one of two places.
First, there is the option to park at Rim Village near the Rim Village Café and Gift Shop, or at Discovery Point on western end of the trail, with Discovery Point typically being the easier of the two places to find parking.
Google Maps Directions: Discovery Point Trailhead (Rim Village) / Discovery Point Trailhead (Discovery Point)
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 Discovery Point Trail
Similar to the Garfield Peak Trail on the east side of Rim Village, the Discovery Point Trailhead can be found where the pavement ends on the path heading west from the café and gift shop.
Discovery Point Trailhead
After just 0.1 miles (0.2 km), the pavement ends, and the Discovery Point Trail begins.
That said, the Discovery Point Trail measures only 2.0 miles (3.2 km) roundtrip, but with the extra walking required to reach the true trailhead, hikers can expect the total distance to be a little longer.
For the first 0.2 miles (0.3 km), the Discovery Point Trail will parallel West Rim Drive until it splits away from the road just a short distance ahead.
At this split, it makes no difference which direction you decide to take, as both sides meet again shortly after the hill.
This is where the Discovery Point Trail leaves West Rim Drive to begin traversing the caldera rim along Crater Lake.
The beginning sections after leaving West Rim Drive are among the hilliest of the entire hike, but even so, I think the Discovery Point Trail is one of the best trail runs in Crater Lake National Park, as it’s neither too busy, too long, nor too remote.
On that note, the shoes I recommend for almost every day hike in Crater Lake National Park are also great trail runners, which you can learn more about using the links below.
After the initial hills, the Discovery Point Trail becomes much flatter, until it descends to the parking lot at Discovery Point near the very end.
The continuous views of Wizard Island are one of my favorite parts of the Discovery Point Trail—not to mention that I personally think the views on the hike are better than both the views in Rim Village and at Discovery Point itself.
As previously mentioned, I highly recommend hiking the Discovery Point Trail first thing in the morning, to enjoy Crater Lake when the wind is calm and the deep-blue water is glassy—like the photos throughout this article.
This is where Discovery Point becomes visible in the distance for the first time!
Shortly before Discovery Point, the trail steeply drops to a single switchback, after which the Discovery Point Trail returns to West Rim Drive and the western trailhead shortly thereafter.
At this split, go right to follow the easiest and safest path to Discovery Point.
Discovery Point
This large pullout off West Rim Drive is Discovery Point, which got its name when John Wesley Hillman, a young prospector, and his party first came to this spot on June 12, 1853, searching for gold in southern Oregon.
At the time, they called the lake 'Deep Blue Lake,' but the site where they first viewed it was later named Discovery Point to commemorate that moment of discovery.
Rim Trailhead
The far western end of the Discovery Point parking area is also the trailhead for the Rim Trail, which connects Discovery Point to the Red Cone Trailhead on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).
For those who decide to continue farther, the two trails are often seen as one and the same—at least until the Rim Trail reaches the Watchman Overlook, about 2.8 miles (4.5 km) away.
This is because the Rim Trail similarly continues along the caldera rim of Crater Lake, passing countless viewpoints of Wizard Island and Fumarole Bay, which can read more about in detail in my separate post linked below.
Read My Separate Post: Rim Trail
