Oregon · Hiking

Castle Crest Wildflower Trail

Castle Crest Wildflower TrailPhoto: NPS Photo/Mimi Gorman
0.4 mi
round trip
83 ft
climb
6,469 ft
high point
Out and back
route
Jun–Sep
best months

Is Castle Crest Wildflower Trail open right now?

Closure in the area

There's a closure order in Crater Lake National Park. It doesn't name Castle Crest Wildflower Trail, so check the source for the area it covers (2 listed).

  • Rim Drive and North Entrance Road are CLOSED for the Season.

    Park closure covering Crater Lake National Park · NPS · Crater Lake National Park

  • Cleetwood Cove Trail is CLOSED for Rehabilitation

    Park closure covering Crater Lake National Park · NPS · Crater Lake National Park

As of · Source: NPS · Crater Lake National Park. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.

The Trail At 6300 feet in elevation, the Castle Crest Wildflower Trail loops around a spring-fed meadow, through a mixed conifer forest, over streams, past a grassy slope, and below Castle Crest Ridge which towers 2,000 feet above the trail on the north and east sides. All this in just 0.41 miles. This trail is not accessible. The Wildflowers Castle Crest Wildflower Trail hosts over 200 species of wildflowers, and is surrounded by trees, shrubs, grasses, and moss. While lingering snow melts, tiny violets, buttercups, and spreading phlox (Phlox diffusa) bloom just above the soil. Shooting stars (Dodecathean alpinum) unfurl from slender stems and American bistorts (Polygonum bistortoides) flash white florets. Different species bloom as summer brings the warmth of drier, hotter days. Two of the most prolific wildflowers are Lewis' monkeyflower (Mimmulus lewsii) and paintbrush (Castillejaspp). Other favorites are the bog orchids such as (Platanthera dilatata var. leucostachys), blue stickweed (Hackelia micrantha), Columbia monkshood (Aconitum columbianum) Pacific bleeding heart (Dicentra formosa), and a variety of asters. White pollen skyrocket (Ipomopsis aggregata ssp. formosissima) is a gorgeous, tubular, orange flower which grows on the western pumice slope.

Local outfitters

Not on Roamze yet. Their page has how to reach them.

  • Best time to go · Jun–Sep

    Best time to visit Castle Crest Wildflower Trail

    Best months: June–September. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.

    1. Jan

      33° / 20°

      18 wet

    2. Feb

      34° / 19°

      17 wet

    3. Mar

      36° / 20°

      18 wet

    4. Apr

      40° / 23°

      16 wet

    5. May

      49° / 29°

      12 wet

    6. Jun

      57° / 34°

      7 wet

    7. Jul

      69° / 41°

      4 wet

    8. Aug

      69° / 42°

      4 wet

    9. Sep

      63° / 37°

      6 wet

    10. Oct

      51° / 30°

      10 wet

    11. Nov

      38° / 23°

      16 wet

    12. Dec

      33° / 19°

      18 wet

    Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Crater Lake Nps Hq, OR, 0.4 mi away at 6,485 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Keep exploring — more trails worth the drive

Castle Crest TrailPhoto: Greg Willis from Denver, CO, usa, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Castle Crest Trail

Next door

0.79-mile out-and-back hike in Oregon with 206 ft gain.

Discovery Point TrailPhoto: Šarūnas Burdulis from USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Discovery Point Trail

~3 min drive

2.14-mile out-and-back hike in Oregon with 1,850 ft elevation gain and loss.

Rim TrailPhoto: w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)

Rim Trail

~4 min drive

8.04-mile out-and-back trail in Oregon with 800 ft gain and 2,655 ft loss.

HIKE

Stuart Falls Trail

~14 min drive

6.40-mile out-and-back hike to Stuart Falls in Oregon with 924 ft gain.

Sun Notch TrailPhoto: Greg Willis from Denver, CO, usa, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Sun Notch Trail

~3 min drive

0.67-mile loop trail in Oregon with 317 ft gain.

Annie Creek Spur TrailPhoto: Krystal.Hamlin, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)

Annie Creek Spur Trail

~4 min drive

0.72-mile out-and-back trail in Oregon with 317 ft gain.

HIKE

ROCKTOP SNOMO TRAIL

~17 min drive

18.32-mile point-to-point trail in Oregon with 5,170 ft elevation gain.

HIKE

THOUSANDS SPRINGS SNOMO TRAIL

~15 min drive

13.18-mile out-and-back trail in Oregon with 3,646 ft elevation gain and loss.

Power Line RoadPhoto: Don Henise, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)

Power Line Road

~4 min drive

0.33-mile out-and-back trail in Oregon with 24 ft of elevation gain.

Annie Creek Canyon TrailPhoto: Krystal.Hamlin, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)

Annie Creek Canyon Trail

~4 min drive

2.14-mile out-and-back hike in Annie Creek Canyon, Oregon with 845 ft gain.