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Visit public recreation lands for free on Veteran’s Day, November 11
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Wizard Island, Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon
To honor America’s service men and women, all areas managed by our nation’s Department of the Interior will not charge entrance fees on Wednesday, November 11. Visitors to public recreation lands managed by the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Reclamation are invited to take a day to honor and reflect on all that our service men and women have done, and are doing, to maintain our freedom and keep peace around the world. The Department of Agriculture is also waiving entrance fees at national forests.
If you have the day off and are up for a few hour’s drive, you can head either north or south of Portland and visit these national parks:
Crater Lake National Park
Cobalt, azure, sapphire, indigo—there simply aren’t enough shades of blue to describe the intense color of 1,932-foot Crater Lake, the country’s deepest. Even if you’ve visited in the summer, you really have to see Oregon’s blue volcano with a beautiful blanket of snow. Keep in mind that it’s now the time of year when trails in Crater Lake National Park are transitioning from hiking trails to skiing trails, and park services are limited. Steel Information Center and Rim Village Cafe and Gifts remain open, as does the road to the rim, from which you can photograph Wizard Island and enjoy the solitude of the off-season.
Mount Rainier National Park
Originally known as “Tahoma” to the Klickitat Indians, 14,410-foot Mount Rainier is the highest in the Cascade Mountain Range. With more than 140 miles of road looping throughout the park, there’s always a scenic viewpoint ahead. This time of year, though, you’ll need to stick to the Nisqually-Paradise road, which is by far the most popular 20-mile drive in the park during any season (the Nisqually entrance in the southwest corner of the park is open year round). The entrance elevation is 2,000 feet and climbs to 5,400 by the time you reach Paradise. If you like waterfalls, you’re in luck because several pretty cascades are visible right from the road.
Crater Lake National Park
Phone: 541-594-2211
Visit the website for road conditions http://www.nps.gov/crla
Mount Rainier National Park
Ashford, Washington
Phone: 360-569-2211
Visit the website for road conditions http://www.nps.gov/mora
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