Crater Lake Rim Drive
The 33-mile loop around the caldera at Crater Lake — one of the snowiest inhabited places in the country, with an average winter of 41 feet. Crews open the rim in segments from mid-April on, so the west side and the North Entrance Road are usually drivable weeks before the circle closes. The dates below are the loop's own: the day East Rim Drive completed it in spring, and the day East Rim Drive shut in the fall.
This year
Live plow-season reports load here. For today's conditions, go straight to Crater Lake NP's status page.
Conditions change by the hour at 7,865 feet — check Crater Lake NP's status page before you drive.
The record
The west side comes through first — plows start on West Rim Drive in mid-April and the North Entrance Road and West Rim Drive usually open in late May or the first half of June. The loop is not whole until East Rim Drive goes through, and that has taken anywhere from June 11 in a 16-foot winter to July 22 after a 56-foot one.
Will it be open for your trip?
| If your dates start… | The road was already open in | That's |
|---|---|---|
| June 15 | 1 of 19 years | 5% |
| July 1 | 7 of 19 years | 37% |
| July 15 | 16 of 19 years | 84% |
| August 1 | 19 of 19 years | 100% |
Odds come from the full record below — past springs, not a promise about this one.
When does Crater Lake Rim Drive close?
The park's own rule is the first big snowstorm or November 1, whichever comes first. Most years the storm gets there first, in the second half of October. The winter closure covers the 33-mile loop around the caldera, plus the North Entrance Road in from Highway 138.
| If you're driving on… | The road was still open in | That's |
|---|---|---|
| September 22 | 13 of 13 years | 100% |
| October 1 | 12 of 13 years | 92% |
| October 8 | 12 of 13 years | 92% |
| October 15 | 9 of 13 years | 69% |
| October 22 | 7 of 13 years | 54% |
| November 1 | 0 of 13 years | 0% |
Closing dates come from the same record as the openings — the year-by-year table below. Past autumns, not a promise about this one: a single storm can end the season a fortnight early.
Every year on record
| Year | Opened | Closed | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | July 15 | — | The last season the loop has been whole; a 37-foot winter, and East Rim Drive went into rehabilitation the following summer. | — |
| 2021 | June 25 | October 21 | A 25-foot winter and an early melt; the park put the whole loop and the Pinnacles Road through together. | nps.gov |
| 2020 | July 11 | November 1 | — | |
| 2019 | July 11 | October 17 | nps.gov | |
| 2018 | June 16 | October 29 | — | |
| 2017 | July 21 | October 13 | 48 feet of snow over the winter. | — |
| 2016 | July 13 | October 14 | — | |
| 2015 | June 11 | November 1 | The thinnest winter in the park's table — 16 feet — and the earliest the loop has closed the circle. | — |
| 2014 | July 1 | October 27 | — | |
| 2013 | July 2 | October 1 | East Rim Drive shut on October 1 while the west side stayed open until October 28. | — |
| 2012 | July 17 | October 23 | — | |
| 2011 | July 22 | November 1 | 56 feet of snow, the deepest winter in the park's table, and the latest the loop has ever opened. | — |
| 2010 | July 9 | October 23 | — | |
| 2009 | June 30 | October 13 | — | |
| 2008 | July 11 | — | — | |
| 2007 | June 29 | — | — | |
| 2006 | July 14 | — | — | |
| 2005 | June 29 | — | — | |
| 2004 | July 3 | — | — |
Why the table stops where it does. The Park Service publishes its own table of Rim Drive dates, and this record follows it: openings from 2004 and closings from 2009. The table has no East Rim Drive date for 2023, and the reason is on the record — a five-year, $56 million rehabilitation of East Rim Drive started that summer, and the park says vehicle traffic cannot drive all the way around Rim Drive while the work is under way. The current conditions page still shows a stretch of East Rim Drive shut for it. There is no later season to add until the loop closes the circle again.
Record drawn from NPS Crater Lake: seasonal road closing and opening dates · NPS Crater Lake: current conditions and park road status · NPS Crater Lake: Scenic Rim Drive · NPS news release: the whole loop open for 2021, June 25 · NPS news release: the whole loop open for 2019, July 11 · NPS news release: East Rim Drive rehabilitation, 2023 · NPS news release: construction cancels the 2026 Ride the Rim. Years with their own link were taken from that record. Last checked September 5, 2026.
Crater Lake Rim Drive: opening and closing questions
- When does Crater Lake Rim Drive close for the winter?
- The park's own rule is the first big snowstorm or November 1, whichever comes first. Most years the storm gets there first, in the second half of October. Across the 13 closings on record the gate has gone shut around October 23 — as early as October 1 in 2013, as late as November 1 in 2020. The winter closure covers the 33-mile loop around the caldera, plus the North Entrance Road in from Highway 138.
- When did Crater Lake Rim Drive close last?
- The most recent closing on the record is October 21, 2021. A 25-foot winter and an early melt; the park put the whole loop and the Pinnacles Road through together. Every other season we can source is in the table on this page.
- Can you drive Crater Lake Rim Drive in winter?
- No. The 33-mile loop around the caldera, plus the North Entrance Road in from Highway 138 is gated once the season ends, and it stays shut until spring plowing gets through. Crater Lake NP posts the gate's current state.
- Is Crater Lake Rim Drive open right now?
- This page is the season record, not the road's condition this morning. National Park Service — Crater Lake National Park publishes today's state of the road, and that is the one to check before you drive — conditions turn over in hours at this elevation. For planning: the usual season runs from about July 9 to about October 23.
- When does Crater Lake Rim Drive open again?
- The west side comes through first — plows start on West Rim Drive in mid-April and the North Entrance Road and West Rim Drive usually open in late May or the first half of June. The loop is not whole until East Rim Drive goes through, and that has taken anywhere from June 11 in a 16-foot winter to July 22 after a 56-foot one. The median of the 19 openings on record is July 9; the earliest was June 11 in 2015 and the latest July 22 in 2011.