Hiking the Fumarole Bay Trail in Crater Lake National Park
Distance: 1.6 miles / 2.6 km
The Fumarole Bay Trail in Crater Lake National Park is a relatively flat day hike along the rugged, volcanic shoreline of Wizard Island that leads to some of the most pristine, turquoise-blue waters, where visitors can jump in, get some sun, and even fish in an area of the park that feels worlds away from all the busyness found at the end of the popular Cleetwood Cove Trail!
That said, the trail—which only stretches for 0.8 miles (1.3 km) each way—should not be taken too lightly, as the rocky, volcanic landscape that makes up Wizard Island certainly requires good hiking shoes, at the very least, to navigate safely.
This is why I strongly recommend coming prepared not only for the lake, but for the full half-day adventure, as proper preparation is key to having a good time on Wizard Island—even if you don’t plan on ascending the Wizard Island Summit Trail.
All this goes without saying that there is only one way on and off Wizard Island: the Wizard Island shuttle! This is why both the Wizard Island Summit Trail and the Fumarole Bay Trail are two of the most exclusive day hikes in Crater Lake National Park, and it’s why reading and understanding all the details discussed below is crucial to securing a ticket for the highly competitive boat shuttle!
How to Book a Crater Lake Boat Tour/ Wizard Island Shuttle?
All boat tours on Crater Lake, including the shuttle to Wizard Island, are operated by one private company, meaning that all reservations must be made directly through the company, not the National Park Service.
That said, both the tickets for the boat tours on Crater Lake, as well as the Wizard Island shuttle, are extremely competitive and sell out within minutes of being released, which is 24 hours prior to the start of the tour.
This means that the only way to secure one of these competitive reservations is to be online, ready to book just a few minutes before the start of the tour, one day in advance. Then, when the minute changes, refresh the page and book as fast as possible!
I can say from experience that boat tours on Crater Lake are not nearly as competitive as others around the country, like Havasupai Trail reservations, but definitely don’t forget the time to be online. You may miss out if you do!
The only exception to all this is if there is a no-show, or a tour doesn’t completely sell out, which is rare when the weather is nice. If you don’t have a reservation, it’s certainly worth asking those who are working when you arrive, but don’t think of this last-second strategy as a good strategy—especially when traveling with a big group!
Book Here: Crater Lake Boat Tours
Fumarole Bay Trailhead Parking
Parking for the Fumarole Bay Trail is located at the Cleetwood Cove Trailhead.
Before arriving, know that even though the parking lot is fairly big, it almost always fills up fast during the busy summer travel season.
This means that, if you have a specific boat tour reservation time, plan to arrive well in advance to give yourself time to find parking, along with time to hike the trail down to the water.
Google Maps Directions: Cleetwood Cove Trailhead
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 Fumarole Bay Trail
The Fumarole Bay Trail begins by hiking the Cleetwood Cove Trail to Crater Lake.
If you’d like to learn more about the Cleetwood Cove Trail, click the link below to read all the details in my separate post.
Read My Separate Post: Cleetwood Cove Trail
Crater Lake Boat Dock
When the Cleetwood Cove Trail reaches Crater Lake, it will pass directly by the boat dock and check-in booth for all the tours on Crater Lake, including the Wizard Island shuttle.
After checking in, be sure to line up about 10–15 minutes before boarding, have your ticket in hand, and have everything you will need for a few hours on Wizard Island—particularly good shoes and plenty of water!
Wizard Island Shuttle
From the boat dock, the Wizard Island shuttle travels about 5.5 miles (8.6 km) to get over to the Wizard Island boat dock on the south side of the island.
While that may sound long, the shuttle moves very fast, meaning that the whole trip should take somewhere between 10-15 minutes—unless the captain spots the Old Man of Crater Lake on the ride over!
Wizard Island
When the shuttle arrives at Wizard Island, be sure to listen carefully to the mandatory return time for the shuttle back over to Cleetwood Cove.
That being said, it may be worth setting yourself an alarm to start hiking back from the Wizard Island Summit or Fumarole Bay, as paying for a rescue pickup is not only inconvenient, but also very expensive!
Wizard Island Summit-Restroom Junction
Almost immediately after getting off the boat dock, the Wizard Island Trail splits, with a short path that leads to the only restroom on the island.
From here, go straight for both the Fumarole Bay Trail and the trail to the summit of Wizard Island.
After the initial junction, the Wizard Island Trail will climb two switchbacks up the adjacent volcanic slope to reach the split for either Fumarole Bay or the Wizard Island Summit Trail.
Fumarole Bay-Wizard Island Summit Junction
After just 0.1 miles (0.2 km), the Wizard Island Trail splits.
Once here, go left at this junction to begin hiking the Fumarole Bay Trail, as the trail to the right is the route to the top of Wizard Island.
If you are interested in hiking both trails on Wizard Island, I highly recommend hiking the Summit Trail first, because Fumarole Bay is much better for spending more time at the end to hang out and swim, compared to the summit, which is farther from the boat dock.
Read My Separate Post: Wizard Island Summit Trail
After the Wizard Island Summit junction, the Fumarole Bay Trail continues to traverse the rocky, rugged landscape that makes up the vast majority of Wizard Island.
I mention this because the same cannot be said about the Wizard Island Summit Trail, which climbs above all this loose volcanic rock on the switchbacks to the summit.
All that to say, I want to again stress the importance of wearing good shoes for any adventure on Wizard Island.
Even though the Fumarole Bay Trail is only 0.8 miles (1.3 km) each way, I also highly recommend wearing a hooded sun shirt when making the trip to Wizard Island.
I say this because, between the Cleetwood Cove Trail, the roughly 11.0-mile (17.7 km) roundtrip boat ride, the Wizard Island Summit Trail, and the Fumarole Bay Trail, a trip to Wizard Island inevitably means spending a lot of time in the sun, given that the total roundtrip distance is 6.6 miles (10.6 km)—if you decide to hike all three trails.
This is where Fumarole Bay becomes visible from the trail for the first time!
Fumarole Bay
After hiking just 0.4 miles (0.6 km) from the Wizard Island Summit junction, the trail reaches the first and most popular swimming spot in Fumarole Bay.
However, the Fumarole Bay Trail doesn’t stop at this first platform; instead, it continues further west around the bay, as shown below.
This is where the trail begins to parallel the much less popular side of Fumarole Bay, and it’s where a number of less crowded swimming spots can be found by those willing to hike a little further!
Anywhere along this beautiful stretch of Wizard Island can make for a great place to swim and fish, away from where most people stop at the floating platform.
At this point, it may seem pointless to continue hiking the Fumarole Bay Trail just to reach the end of the official trail, but, out of curiosity, I wanted to know what it would be like to continue past what the National Park Service maintains.
End of the Fumarole Bay Trail
After all the best swimming spots, the Fumarole Bay Trail abruptly ends on the north side of the bay, where the topography transitions back into a rough, rocky, undeveloped volcanic landscape that encompasses most of Wizard Island.
What I can say is that some hikers opt to continue past the end of the maintained trail toward the beautiful pools near Skell Channel, but I do not recommended hiking past this point for a few reasons.
The first, and most obvious, is because the volcanic landscape really is that unforgiving, meaning that any fall, slip, or induced rockslide onto others in your group could easily cause serious injury.
The second, and possibly more important, reason has to do with the risk of getting stranded on Wizard Island. Don’t expect hiking past the end of the trail to move at the same pace as the Fumarole Bay Trail thus far, meaning that leaving yourself enough time to hike to Skell Channel and back is critical in order to avoid having to be rescued.
This would likely mean skipping the Wizard Island Summit Trail altogether, along with the initial swimming spots at the beginning of Fumarole Bay, just to make this one out-and-back adventure to the Skell Pools possible.
This is the view looking straight up the slope from the end of the Fumarole Bay Trail, but the other, less hilly option is to follow the shoreline out to the channel.
