America's Most Beautiful Lake Has a Sunken Forest Beneath Its Crystal-clear Waters

Tucked away in Oregon's Willamette National Forest is a lake with waters as clear as a swimming pool and fascinating wonders hiding underneath.

Oregon's spring-fed Clear Lake was formed around 3,000 years ago through lava flows that ran from Sand Mountain, creating a natural dam that slowly filled with water. The forests surrounding the lake were submerged over time, remaining today in the form of trunks that extend as far as 120 feet into the water.

Courtesy of Gene Blick

Thanks to volcanic activity that once shook the area, the lake's grounds are also covered with volcanic silt that is so thick, it looks like white sand. This, in combination with the shipwrecks — some of which date back to the 1920s — makes it feel as though you're diving through an underwater beach.

The lake's clarity is the result of snow and ice melting from the top of surrounding mountains and filtering through 7,000-year-old lava, slowly running through underground springs before it reaches the lake.

Courtesy of Gene Blick

"To me, Clear Lake has a very spiritual effect on people...When you get there, it comes across as magical," Brian Carroll, director of Linn County Parks & Recreation, told Travel + Leisure. "You've got it all: The mountains are there, the forest is there, and there's lava; there's just so many different abnormalities about the area because you're surrounded by all this volcanic terrain."

Courtesy of Gene Blick

While divers do come here for the fascinating underwater scenery, the waters can get chilly at an average of around 37 degrees Fahrenheit. For those unwilling to brave the cold, the area also provides rowboats ($20 per hour or $45 for the day for a large boat that fits up to five people, and $15 per hour or $35 for the day for a smaller boat fitting four). Kayaks ($15 per hour or $30 for the day) are also available for rent. Or, you can launch your own for $5. Rowboats and kayaks can only be rented the same day upon arrival at the lake.

You can also explore the Clear Lake Loop Trail and McKenzie River National Recreation Trail, both of which take you through areas of lava flows dotted with volcanic glass and old forests adorned in wildflowers from May through June and covered with vine maples and a sea of colors in October.

If you're planning to drive to the lake, the route from Willamette Valley weaves through forests as you drive along the path of McKenzie River, with plenty of spots to explore along the way, including hot springs and hiking trails.