Lightning Spring and Bybee Creek, Crater Lake

Crater Lake National Park (West Rim Drive)

Most of Crater Lake National Park is managed as wilderness, the NPS says, but backcountry camping comes with strict limits: no camping with a lake view in summer, none inside Rim Drive, and only a handful of designated sites. The Lightning Spring Trail reaches two of the open ones, Lightning Springs and Bybee Creek.

It drops from West Rim Drive to the Pacific Crest Trail, passing a spring that Bend Magazine says is fed by melting snow, not by the lake.

The hike

The trailhead is on the west side of Rim Drive about 2.5 miles north of Rim Village, with a gravel parking area, according to the Crater Lake Institute. The trail descends with switchbacks for about 4 miles to the PCT. The upper 1.5 miles run along the forest edge and through open pumice fields; lower down, lodgepole pine takes over.

Bend Magazine places Lightning Springs less than a mile in, and says “several backcountry campsites here invite campers to enjoy this mountain oasis.” The springs emerge above lake level, the magazine notes, so they are not a leak from Crater Lake. Below them, the trail follows a ridge that is part of the Watchman lava flow, which the Institute says is roughly 400 to 500 feet thick, then follows a creek for about half a mile, crosses it, and continues west to the headwaters of Bybee Creek. The Institute places Bybee Camp near the PCT junction, which it lists at 5,899 feet; the NPS lists the Bybee Creek sites at 5,494 feet. The trail was once a fire control road, built in the 1930s according to Bend Magazine.

The round trip is about 8.4 miles. The NPS also suggests longer overnights from here: a 12.8-mile Dutton/Lightning loop (though Dutton Creek camp is now closed), a 24.8-mile “small PCT loop,” and a 30-mile “large PCT loop.” The Dutton Creek Trail, the Institute says, now serves as the start of an alternate PCT route from Rim Village.

The NPS recommends mid-July through September for backcountry trips, since some high trails stay snow-covered until mid-July. Bend Magazine suggests the shoulder season for solitude, and mentions mule deer, elk, and tracks of bear, coyote, and mountain lion.

For a lake-basin loop just south of the park, see Sky Lakes Basin from Cold Springs.

Tips

Pick up your permit in person at the ranger station near Steel Visitor Center; it’s free, and you can’t get it by phone or more than a day ahead.
Have a backup. Designated sites are assigned first come, first served with the permit.
Don’t camp with a lake view. The NPS bans it in summer.
Carry a stove. Campfires are prohibited in the backcountry.
Bring a park entrance pass valid for your whole trip.

Camping

The NPS requires a backcountry permit for every overnight trip, year-round. Permits are free, must be obtained in person, and aren’t issued by phone or more than one day ahead. A self-registration station sits at the ranger station, about 100 yards southwest of the Steel Visitor Center.

The park has five designated backcountry sites with flat tent areas and nothing else. Lightning Springs (2 sites, 6,890 feet) and Bybee Creek (2 sites, 5,494 feet) are open and have reliable water, and the NPS notes Lightning Springs is often crowded. Dutton Creek and Red Cone Springs are closed, and Grouse Hill is reserved for PCT hikers. Dispersed camping, also by permit, must be at least a mile from roads and developed areas, 100 feet from water and meadows, and out of sight of trails and other campers. Campfires are prohibited.

Inside Intel: Bend Magazine writer Damian Fagan describes the Lightning Springs campsites as a “mountain oasis,” and suggests the shoulder season, when hikers will likely have the trail mostly to themselves.

Trail facts

Distance: About 8.4 miles round trip to the PCT
Route type: Out and back (longer PCT loops possible)
Difficulty: Moderate
Campsites: Lightning Springs (2 sites), Bybee Creek (2 sites), assigned with your permit
Water: Lightning Spring, a creek below it, Bybee Creek; treat creek water
Permits: Free backcountry permit, in person, no more than one day ahead
Fires: Prohibited in the backcountry
Trailhead: Lightning Spring, West Rim Drive, about 2.5 miles north of Rim Village
Last verified: October 12, 2026

The Lowdown

Nothing but tent pads at Lightning Springs:

The NPS says the Lightning Springs sites have flat tent areas and nothing else, and campfires are prohibited. We compared the Arc'teryx Beta SL with two less expensive rain shells.

Compare the shells →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.