You may have seen previous postings of the view from the Lodge overlooking Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. It looked like this today, as you look east from the Lodge :

View across the marsh

Today was a beautiful day, so I went for a drive around 30 Mile Land, past the Wood River Wetlands and ended up at Agency Lake. Here’s the view looking back to the west, toward Crystalwood Lodge across Agency Lake.

Agency Lake and Cascades with Sky Lakes Wilderness

As you can see, the Sky Lakes Wilderness and the high country atop the Cascades are still snow-bound. In a year with a normal winter, that situation would continue perhaps even into July, but this year, I’m guessing the trails will open earlier than normal due to the light winter we had. Right now we’re having very mild spring days, so stay tuned for the hiking updates!

Last but not least, you can’t talk about spring around here without talking about birds. Hearing birds, seeing birds. Everywhere. The cliff swallows that grace the sides of the lodge and delight our guests are back as usual, and busy nesting and eating the emerging bug population. I tried to catch a few shots of them near sunset, as they congregate before calling it a day:

Flock of cliff swallows at Crystalwood Lodge

Flock of cliff swallows near Crystalwood Lodge nests

So there you have it. Birds, fishing, snow remnants, budding trees, marsh greening up, beautiful days…spring and summer are a very special fleeting time around here! Hope you have the chance to get away and enjoy it with us!!

Don’t forget…for a complete calendar of all there is to see and do around Crystalwood Lodge, make sure to check out our new local visitor website, Things To Do Near Crater Lake. An outgrowth of our award-winning local visitor newspaper, the website is a tremendous resource for the myriad of recreational opportunities and services in our area. More about that in an upcoming post!

Many guests come to this area to see Crater Lake and, after driving around the rim and doing some hiking, ask me “What else is there to do around here?”   Our local newspaper, Now that I’m Here, was created for that very purpose and can be downloaded on our website (www.crystalwoodlodge.com)  It has tons of information on other things to do in this area and a great map in the center

Here are a few ideas on how you can make your trip down to the Crater Lake area the best it can be:

1.  Relax!  Get a blanket and lay own in our poplar grove, sit in the sunshine with  a book, play a game, try your hand at fishing or watch the sunset with a glass of wine in your hand…

2.  Come prepared.  Lately our commerical refrigerator has been filled with guest food!  People have enjoyed “playing chef” in the kitchen — baking biscuits for their breakfast, cooking on the stove or using our outdoor bbq for kabobs and steaks. 

3.  Go for a hike.  There are tons of hiking opportunities nearby the Lodge.  The Cherry Creek and Nannie Creek trails offer peaceful paths and wonderful views!  The Lodge has additonal information of hiking trails in the area.  Be sure to take some time to explore the Crystalwood property as well – we have 130 acres of property filled with several miles of easy walking trails. 

4.  Take a canoe out.  The trip down Crystal Creek is beautiful, peaceful and nature-filled —particularly great for birders.

5.  Check out some of the local museums and events.  Now that I’m Here has a calender of events and directions on how to get to the Fort Klamath Museum, Collier State Park Logging Museum or the Train Mountain Miniature Railroad. 

For more information on staying at the Crystalwood Lodge or local events feel free to check out our website at www.crystalwoodlodge.com

Still have questions?

Phone: 541/866.381.2322

Email:  reservations @crystalwoodlodge.com

A great area stop for food on the way to or from the lake is the Solar Café, which is located right between Lake of the Woods and the Crystalwood Lodge. The café is only open for a limited number of weekend hours, but if you’re in the area on a Friday night or Saturday/Sunday morning, it’s definitely worth a stop.   On Friday nights from 5-8pm The Solar Café fills with loyal locals and hungry travelers for pizza night.  The pizzas, which range in price from $11-$15, are delicious, fresh and nicely complimented by a great selection of beer and wine.      

From July 22-28, the Train Mountain Museum is hosting the Train Mountain Triennial International Train Meet.   This event, which will feature a wide variety of miniature trains, will be of interest even to those who know little about trains.  There’s only two days left, but there’s still time to come and check it out!  For more information on the Triennial call 541.783.3030 or visit   http://www.trainmountain.org/about.asp

For those who can’t make it out for this event, Train Mountain also gives miniature railroad rides on summer Sundays from 10am-3pm.  The rides are free, but donations are accepted to cover the costs of fuel and maintenance.  For more information on Sunday train rides this summer, please visit http://www.trainmountain.org

The Crystalwood Lodge is lcoated 18 miles from the southern entrance to Crater Lake and 25 miles from the Train Mountain Railroad Museum.  For more information on enjoying your family vacation at the Crystalwood Lodge call 541/866.381.2322 or visit www.crystalwoodlodge.com

The area that surrounds the Crystalwood Lodge is filled with a rich history and eye-pleasing diversity.  Located off of Highway 140 on Westside Road, the Lodge is slightly off the beaten trail, but offers a lot of wonderful opportunities for taking in the outdoors.  The Nannie and Cherry Creek Trails, which were once logging roads, are located less than a mile north of the Crystalwood Lodge.  These trails are perfect for horseback riding, a day hike or a gentle evening walk with the dogs.  Along the well-kept gravel trailhead at Nannie Creek, a plethora of easy, scenic walking/riding paths branch off.  The trailhead extends up 5.2 miles to the main parking lot, where hikers can decide whether they want to take the easy hike up to the Puck Lakes (4.8 miles round trip) or the longer and more difficult hikes up to Marguerette Lake (12.8 mile loop) or Luther Mountain (16.7 mile loop).  Peaceful, quiet and scenic, these trails include no entrance fees, gates, warning signs or asphalt intrusion, making a trip down these trails exploration of Southern Oregon at its best. 

For the summer, the trails are generally snow-free and the trailheads easily managed by most vehicles.  For guests who travel with horses, the Crystalwood Lodge does have four horse corrals and private riding trails available.  

Crystalwood Lodge at the base of the Oregon Cascades viewed from the Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge

Forest walking trails on the Crystalwood Lodge property

As you can see, everything is lush, green, and bursting with life! As I’ve mentioned in past posts,the birds have all arrived and are busy nesting and working on the next generation. Next time I’ll post more bird pictures, and I hope to be able to get out and take pictures of our prolific Great Blue Heron rookery, in the lodgepole pines along the east edge of our property and the marsh. It’s quite a sight!

Meanwhile, back at the Lodge, the view changes daily. Within the last week the aspens have almost all leafed out, likewise the willows. The grass and garden is being tended, and flowers are appearing.

One of our ponds in the front meadow through the early spring leaves of the aspen grove

View of the Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge from behind Crystalwood Lodge

This is the view on the opposite side of Crystalwood Lodge from the front meadow.
Weather this week is supposed to be wonderful — nicely warm, in the upper 70s/low 80s, perhaps a small chance of afternoon thunderstorms. Those are amazing…to see the storms roll across the marsh…if we get some, I’ll definitely try for some pictures!

The front of Crystalwood Lodge as seen from a canoe out on Crystal Spring.

Come and enjoy springtime in the Klamath Basin...and don't forget your best friends!

Hot here today, it feels way more like mid-summer than early spring.  But this heat wave is not supposed to last, and more temperate conditions will return in a couple of days.  Today’s blog post is mostly to introduce our summer 2009 offerings and room rates, but I did want to point out where to get fairly reliable weather information for our area.  The weather site I like the best is the NOAA weather, it seems to be fairly accurate and they do account for our micro-climates in the area.  Just enter Ft. Klamath, Oregon in the search bar, and you’ll get a snapshot of the weather in our little corner of paradise.

OK, on the the main topic for today — vacationing at and around Crater Lake has never been more affordable than this year!  Crystalwood Lodge is opening up our commercial kitchen for guest use, and reducing our room rates for this season to boot.  We’ve been operating this way quite successfully in the off seasons for several years, and it worked really well for guests as they felt they could take care of their own needs, make their own schedules and completely and utterly relax.  A number of guests always called to find out exactly when the offseason would start, so they could time their arrivals to correspond.  Likewise, when folks arrived and saw the kitchen, they were like kids in a candy shop at the thought of getting to play in a real commercial kitchen.  So we decided to take the plunge and open it up for the summer season and see how it goes.

Our 2009 lodging rates reflect that change — removing the cost of preparing breakfasts, with no additional charge for the commercial kitchen use.  So anywhere you look for lodging in the Crater Lake or Klamath Falls area, you’ll find we’re your best value, especially for those folks who want to stay a few days and economically explore all this area has to offer and make a true vacation of it.  This is the place to really get away, without going far and spending tons of money!

One recent guest asked if there was an historical reason why we have a commercial kitchen…the answer is yes!  Turns out when the original Brown family homestead was converted into a hunting and fishing lodge, it was also a saloon and restaurant.  That was in the 1980s, and it was known as Crystal Creek Lodge in those days, and had quite a reputation as a local watering hole.  The kitchen has been updated and expanded through the various owners since then, and I know how fun it is to cook in there — I want to share that opportunity with my guests!  Everything you might need is there, so relax, have fun, experiment, enjoy!

What does a fully outfitted commercial kitchen mean?  What if I don’t feel like cooking?  More details are on the Crystalwood Lodge website on our News and Specials page. 

Also a point to note:  we’re the perfect size for the small family reunion or pet-and-family-friendly getaway.As we’ve done in years past, the entire lodge is available for “Lodge Exclusive” rentals by groups, for family reunions, retreats, board meetings, volunteer groups, church gatherings, etc.  We have a full list of caterers in the area, any of whom would be glad to provide whatever services your group might need.  For overnight accommodations, we can sleep 16 when all the beds and rooms are full.  Ask about our Lodge Exclusive package deals and find out how to have this incredible property and area all to yourselves!

The first staff member you’ll likely meet is Brick, whose self-appointed official title is Lodge Meeter and Greeter. He’s a very mellow old guy, a retired sled dog just turning 16 years young, and at that age he kinda figures he has outlived the rules. Mostly, he’s right! He welcomes everyone, 2 or 4 footed alike…he’s quite convinced you’re here to see him!

Brick is Crystalwood Lodge's official Meeter-and-Greeter

Next is Jeana, who is our summer staffer joining us all the way from Alberta Canada.  We’re thrilled to have Jeana join us, and in this first week she’s jumped in with both feet to quickly learn the Lodge facilities and amenities.  If you’re lucky enough to get her on the phone when you call, please welcome her and enjoy her delightful accent — after all, its definitely Canadian, eh?

Jeana is here to provide excellent guest service

Last, but certainly not least, is Orval, our maintenance and landscaping expert.  Orval is one of those rare individuals who can fix anything (and does).  With the historical nature of the Crystalwood Lodge and property, keeping everything working smoothly is a full time job!  Orval does a great job whether he is tending the garden, completing a project enhancing the guest experience, or providing advice on the many recreation opportunities in our area.

Orval keeps the place humming and beautiful.

And, of course, there’s myself — Liz, your host.  I manage to keep pretty busy running Crystalwood Lodge, training and caring for my sled dog team, and developing a speaking, writing and coaching career based on the life lessons I’ve learned from my sled dogs.  Since we accomplished our goal of completing the 2008 Iditarod Sled Dog Race (in celebration of my 50th birthday), the dogs and I are sharing our learnings with others, and Crystalwood Lodge makes a wonderful place to host those type of gatherings, events and workshops!

Liz is your host and owner of Crystalwood Lodge

We all look forward to welcoming you to Crystalwood Lodge this year, whether you’re visiting Crater Lake, attending one of the Cuttings, Ropings or other special events in the area, or just enjoying the multitude of things to do…we will make your hard-earned vacation extra special!

As you can see, it’s still early, but spring is sprung!  Fishing season is open, the water is high for canoeing, and there’s plenty to do in the area.  Our seasonal staff is onboard (more about that in another post) and we’re looking forward to a great summer season.  Hope you can join us!

Oh yes, and the cliff swallows are back and already nesting on the Lodge!

Western Trek Day 16 – Peaceful Valley, originally uploaded by emace.

Starting April 24, the 2009 season will open for reservations at Crystalwood Lodge bed and breakfast inn.

While the lodge is open year-round for event rental, the summer season will start on April 24, which corresponds with the opening of trout season on Crystal Creek, the Wood River and many of the other surrounding fisheries.

The Klamath Basin features one of the finest native trout fisheries in the Western United States.  Trophy sized redband rainbows and German brown abound the the cold rich waters.  Crystal Spring, on the southern edge of the property just out the front door of Crystalwood Lodge, boasts a large population of 12+ lb. redbands, thanks to the spring water being a brisk 39 degrees year-round.  Come prepared — the water is so clear, the fish can see you coming a mile away!  You can get them to bite, but you might have to go the extra mile to outwit them first!  Come try your luck and see what happens!!