Park development continued at Crater Lake in 1918 under the watchful eye of Mather and the immediate supervision of Sparrow. In his annual report that year Mather reported on the progress that had been made in improvements to roads, campgrounds, trails, and facilities in the park to enhance the qualities of the visitor’s experience:
. . . Negotiations extending over a considerable period of time finally resulted, during the early spring of this year, in the approval by the Secretary of Agriculture of a cooperative agreement covering the development of these [approach] roads [from Medford and Klamath Falls]. The Federal funds to be made available will come from appropriations authorized in the Federal aid roads act for national forests. No reconstruction work will be done during the war, but the project is to be undertaken immediately upon the return of peace; in other words, the project is a preferred one. The rebuilding of these forest roads and the completion of the Rim Road by this Service will give Crater Lake National Park merited importance as an objective for motor travel.
Congress appropriated $50,000 for the completion of the grading of the Rim Road, but it is not likely that the work can be finished this year. Of the total of 35 miles, the 14 miles between Cloudcap and Watchman must be improved. Increased labor costs, difficulties experienced in securing men, and other obstructive influences have contributed to the situation. It will probably require $7,000 to complete the work. The Corps of Engineers of the Army will authorize its transfer to the National Park Service in the next sundry civil bill. It is clearly the intent of Congress that all work of maintaining the system shall be intrusted to this Bureau, and as there is little to be done to complete the Rim Road it seems hardly necessary to require the Corps of Engineers to organize another field party next year when the superintendent of the park can handily perform this work at much less expense. The economies attending the combination of engineering and administrative office forces, the establishment of single management et cetera should also be considered at this time.
The public camp grounds on the rim of the crater were greatly improved during the summer season. A large tank and pumping equipment have been purchased and will soon be installed for the purpose of supplying water to campers on the rim grounds which are located a short distance west of the hotel in a beautiful alpine park area commanding a wonderful view of the lake. Heretofore, water has been taken from the very inadequate hotel supply. The camp grounds will be equipped with shower baths if the water supply can be developed as expected. In this park, as in all others, special attention is constantly given to maintaining public camp grounds in a thoroughly sanitary condition.
The accessibility of the new Rim Road, and all of the new trails from this camping area on the rim of Crater Lake should make it one of the most popular camping grounds in the national park system, and should attract the pedestrian and horseman as well as the motorist.
The splendid new trail from Crater Lake Lodge to the shore of the lake, one of the important improvements of last year, has given pleasure and refreshment to thousands, and, as we expected, elderly people and visitors wholly unaccustomed to climbing availed themselves of the opportunity to make the delightful trip from the lodge to the edge of the lake, thence in motor boats around the lake to Wizard Island and the Phantom Ship, and to other points of interest. The new trails to Garfield Peak and the Watchman were also exceedingly popular during the past season. A trail to the summit of Union Peak is now under construction and will be finished before the park is closed for the winter. [3]
The unsurfaced 35-mile Rim Road was completed, with the exception of eight miles that required further widening and grading, and opened to the public on August 2, 1918. Later that month Mather made the trip around the lake, pronouncing it “a wonderful scenic tour” and the “most important feature in the development and administration” of the park during the year. Mather went on to state that the “road is one of the finest scenic highways of the world.” Not only were the ”views of the marvelous lake superb and unique, but the glimpses of the surrounding region that falls away from the crater are only slightly less sensational.” In order to provide the visitor with “even more thrilling views of Crater Lake or the adjacent mountain region than that afforded at the points where the Rim road overlooks cliffs of the crater,” new trails had been built from the road to Sun Notch and Crater Peak.
