Mazama Village will become the focal point for most commercial visitor services. A new full-service restaurant and expanded parking will replace the Watchman restaurant at Rim Village. Locating a new restaurant at Mazama Village will be more convenient for the more than 500 overnight guests staying at the motor inn and campground. Retail merchandise space will be expanded at the Mazama Village store by eliminating the concessioner and coin-operated public laundries. This will partially offset the unavailability of some gift sale items at the rim. The public showers and gasoline station will remain in their current location.
The amphitheater will be retained in its current location. Visitor information and orientation will be enhanced with construction of a self-service kiosk near the Mazama Village store. The existing road system will remain.
The 40-unit Mazama Village Motor Inn will continue to provide summer season overnight lodging. Overnight camping will continue to be available at the 213-site Mazama campground. In response to public input regarding group camping, two group sites will be added west of the main campground road or at the Lost Creek campground. The park will study this issue further before making a determination as to the most suitable location.
Additional replacement housing for concession employees will be located outside the park. However, if studies determined that this will not be feasible, the construction of up to 30 sites may be authorized for an employee RV/trailer facility near the Mazama Dormitory complex west of OR 62 or the number of beds at the Mazama Dormitory will be increased to about 100. A small concessioner maintenance facility, warehouse, and maintenance shop will also be constructed in the same area to serve the concession facilities at Rim Village and Mazama Village. The commercial laundry will be relocated to this facility.
The frequency of boat tours at Cleetwood will be reduced from nine to seven per day, and an eighth tour will be provided when necessary to pick up visitors at Wizard Island. The tour lengths and routes will vary, as will the interpretive talks, which will enhance visitor understanding of the lake and the caldera and will diversify the visitor experience. No boat use during early morning and late afternoon hours will be retained to partially mitigate the pristine lake viewing desired by some visitors. A reservation system will be implemented for the convenience of visitors who want to take a boat tour. The reduction of boat tours coupled with the reservation system will maintain a viable economic operation while reducing parking problems during peak hours. Adding an interpreter on Wizard Island and increasing interpretation throughout the area will further meet the interpretive, educational, and resource protection goals of this plan. A pilot program to use electric powered boats or alternate fuel sources is an option that could be implemented when the technology becomes practical for use at Crater Lake.
The Cleetwood parking lot will be restriped to provide 120 spaces, but its overall size and configuration will remain the same. The unofficial overflow parking areas along Rim Drive will be eliminated.
