The handbook contained information that pertained solely to winter visits. The Park Service maintained two ski trails from Rim Village to park headquarters. On weekends and holidays from mid-September to mid-June the coffee shop at Rim Village offered light refreshments and souvenirs. Overnight accommodations were available at several locations near the park. The south and west entrances were maintained as all-year roads, while the north entrance and Rim Drive were closed from late September to July 1.
Free and non-reserved campgrounds were open from about July 1 to September 30, depending on snow conditions. Mazama and Annie Spring campgrounds, near the junction of the south and west entrance roads, and Rim Village Campground had fireplaces, tables, water, and flush toilets. Lost Creek Campground, on the road to The Pinnacles, had fireplaces, tables, water, and pit toilets. No utility connections were available for house trailers. The lodge and cabins at Rim Village were open from mid-June to mid-September. There were eight picnic areas equipped with tables and pit toilets.
The handbook listed a variety of services in the park. The lodge dining room was open during the same period that the lodge was in operation. In summer the cafeteria in Rim Village served meals from 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. During the winter it operated as a coffee shop on weekends and holidays. Groceries were available at the cafeteria. Rowboats and fishing supplies could be rented at the boat landing at the foot of Cleetwood Trail. A branch post office was located in the Administration Building at park headquarters. Protestant church services and Sunday School were conducted at Community House in Rim Village and at the amphitheater in Mazama Campground. Several 2-1/2-hour launch trips were provided each day, and scenic bus trips around Rim Drive, beginning at the lodge, were scheduled daily. A gasoline station was open during the summer near park headquarters. [67]
Peyton and Griffin continued to make improvements to the lodge during the late 1960s. During 1965-67 it was refurbished with new carpeting and furniture. In 1967 a partial sprinkler system was installed primarily to protect the lobby area against fire. [68]
While these improvements were underway the National Park Service negotiated a new 30-year contract with Crater Lake Lodge, Inc. The contract contained the usual provisions for the concessioner to provide lodging, food and beverage, transportation, service station, boat, and merchandizing services in the park. One of the innovations in the contract, however, provided that the concessioner would operate the park campgrounds on a fee basis with a reservation system. This set a precedent in National Park Service history since Crater Lake was the first park to introduce concessioner-operated fee campgrounds. The company also agreed to contract and operate a trailer village. [69]
Subsequently, Peyton and Griffin announced a $2,000,000, nine-year building program at Crater Lake. The ambitious plans, most of which were never fulfilled, included a 100-site trailer village adjacent to Mazama Campground, a 50-unit motel with coffee and gift shop at Munson Valley, replacement of the existing Rim Village cold-water cabins with modern single-family units, expansion of the existing cafeteria and gift shop, construction of a new 160-employee dormitory at Rim Village, and reconstruction of the lodge into a low-profile structure of 50-60 rooms having spacious dining and recreation facilities. [70]
Backcountry hiking became an increasingly popular form of recreation activity at Crater Lake during the late 1960s. This phenomenon was especially true after Congressional establishment of the Pacific Crest Trail on October 2, 1968. The trail extended for 33 miles through the park on its 2,350-mile circuit along the mountain ranges of the West Coast states from the Mexican-California border to the Canadian-Washington border. [71] Later in 1970 the fire access trails that had been constructed in the 1930s were converted for use as backcountry hiking trails.
