The parking lot was huge, but the visitor center itself was pretty small. There's security guards…read moreat the visitor center and dam. Came on a weekend and it was pretty crowded. There's a video in one of the room that taught about the dam's history. Apparently, the staff ran two free hour long tours at 11AM and 1PM the day we visited. We were told the tour schedule changes all the time so you need to call ahead for their schedule. You need to arrive an hour in advance and it's first come first reserve. You cannot reserve before the hour. There were a lot of people waiting for the tour. Hopefully, we can return one day for the tour.

We were able to join the 1:00pm tour on the Memorial Holiday weekend. The staff at the visitor…read morecenter were great! Our tour guide Bri was excellent...could not have had a more knowledgeable, energetic, positive guide. I highly recommend this tour.

What a great visitor center! Was honestly surprised to find one so large here…read more Located at the southwest entrance to Lassen National Park, you'll find so much here - clean bathrooms, a water-bottle refill station, free Wi-Fi. There's also some wonderful displays about the park, rangers to help plan your day, some souvenir shops, and a little restaurant. Definitely stop and take advantage because you won't find anything like this again until you're near the Manzanita Lake entrance. Plenty of parking. A great stop while visiting the park!

By far the biggest building in the park and with the most amenities. You'll find a huge souvenir…read morearea inside along with a café. There's also a park film that plays inside and very nice flushing restrooms. There's a back area where you can eat if the incredibly deep snow has melted.

A beautiful facility offering information on businesses and events throughout Tehama County…read more Friendly "greeter" from the Work Training Center will direct you to various displays within the Center. Art Gallery features displays throughout the year.

From the owner: We are a Visitor Center, presented by North Valley Services, a non-profit organization which…read morepromotes opportunities for people with disabilities.

As part of our quest to visit all 63 U.S. national parks, we set off on a six week road trip. I…read morehave a personal rule: I only count a national park as "visited" if I actually spend time there, hike or walk through it, and truly experience it. On this trip, we visited 14 national parks, and Lassen Volcanic National Park was one of the biggest surprises. The drive into the park was beautiful, and despite evidence of recent wildfires in parts of the forest, the landscape is recovering and remains absolutely stunning. Nature has an incredible ability to heal, and seeing young trees growing alongside older burned areas was a reminder of how volcanic landscapes are constantly changing. Lassen is one of the few places in the world where you can experience all four types of volcanoes: shield, composite, cinder cone, and plug dome. That alone makes it geologically fascinating, but what really impressed us was how much variety the park offers. One moment we were standing beside steaming fumaroles and bubbling mud pots that reminded us of a smaller, quieter version of Yellowstone. The smell of sulfur, the hissing steam, and the boiling earth beneath your feet make you appreciate that this landscape is still very much alive. The next moment we were hiking around peaceful alpine lakes with spectacular reflections of Lassen Peak mirrored in the crystal clear water. Manzanita Lake was especially beautiful, and seeing the volcano reflected on its calm surface was one of the highlights of our visit. We also loved exploring quieter trails to places like Lily Pond, where we could hike for long stretches while seeing only one or two other people. There is something special about having so much natural beauty almost entirely to yourself. For those who enjoy being on the water, the lakes are perfect for kayaking or simply sitting quietly and taking in the scenery. The combination of volcanic landscapes, mountain forests, meadows, lakes, and wildlife makes every part of the park feel different. We stayed in the nearby town of Chester, which turned out to be a charming little base for exploring the park. It has several good restaurants, friendly people, and everything we needed after long days of hiking. Lassen Volcanic National Park may not receive the attention of some of California's more famous parks, but it absolutely deserves it. It combines dramatic volcanic features with peaceful alpine beauty in a way that feels both exciting and calming at the same time. If you enjoy hiking, geology, photography, or simply discovering places that are a little less crowded, Lassen Volcanic National Park is a hidden gem that should be on every national park lover's list.

We had an amazing trip here! Arrived in a Yhursday and enjoyed exploring about 1/2 of the park,…read moremostly the western half.

Quaint aka very small park located along the Sacramento River. Quiet, scenic, and well maintained…read morewith two public bathrooms on prem. We enjoyed a nice outdoor lunch here en route and this park is located conveniently off the 5. The park ranger was friendly and on-duty when we were here too. Plenty of parking too. Definitely a nice outdoor lunch, restroom break, or doggy walk spot when passing through Red Bluff.

Very clean and quiet lots of shade and no homeless sleeping in bushes very well maintained and the…read morefishing is lightweight alright, the trail to the river has lots of Bees so be careful

PERFECT for biking. You won't find better views of the Sacramento River, and the geology is…read moreamazing. There's even an old railroad tunnel. This trail goes by several names. Take the 35-mile round trip from Redding Sundial Bridge to the Shasta Dam. Rent an ebike. You'll love it.

A good trail for a short walk along the river. A better trail for a long bike ride. I believe it's…read moreabout a 17 mile trek completely around. So there was no way I was going to cover that all on foot. I had my puppers with me and at about the 40 minute mark the tree cover went away completely. I had to cut our adventure shorter than expected and turn around as we were both sweaty little hot dogs at this point. Would love to complete the entire trail at some point.

This recreation area is located in the hills west of Redding, California. I'd never heard of it…read moreuntil we took a different route back from the Humboldt region, back down to SoCal. It was scenic, there's lots of different lakes that dot the area. It's really pretty. People come here for boating, swimming, and hiking up to the waterfalls. Theres also water sports and camping in the summer months.

Excellent park, beautiful nature, everything is well-maintained. Highly recommend! Beautifulread more

What a hidden gem! This visitor center has a "free" interactive museum showcasing how the dam was…read moreengineered; the history of the native Yahi Indian culture and of Ishi, Oroville, and the local fish and wildlife. My favorite exhibit was the story and photos of Ishi. The center also has a viewing tower which is accessible by stairs or elevator. You can see the dam. Don't worry if you are afraid of heights. The tower is not very tall. Plus it has coin operated telescopes. But I put a quarter in one of the telescopes...it didn't work. I suggest bringing your own binoculars, if you have one, because the center is on top of the ridge overlooking the dam with pretty nice views. The center also is the starting point to several easy 1-1.5 mile round trip hikes. To boot the parking is free and the lot is paved. So come on and visit the center, soak up nature and a bit of fun facts...all free. Oh by the way, the road to the dam is off limits to the public still due to repairs. Per the center docent, there is no ETA on when it will open back up.

I'll keep this very nice and simple: The folks at the Lake Oroville Visitor Center are SO NICE!…read more Basically, a few weeks ago my friends and I were planning a perilous trip to Feather Falls and Oroville. The only reason why we were so hesitant about going was because of the raging fires happening throughout NorCal. We decided to go anyway, because we weren't going to pass up on the opportunity. A week before, I called the Lake Oroville Visitor Center because I wanted to see whether it was possible to head down to the Oroville Damn, or at least what's remaining of it. If you haven't been living under a rock, you'll know that the damn spillway cracked in half in 2017 because of the extreme flooding and they've been repairing it since then. Well, a lovely park ranger on the phone told us that we could definitely drive NEARBY the damn and grab pictures. She also recommended we stop by the visitor's center for recommendations around the area. And that's exactly what we did. After surviving an intense, 8 mile hike to and from the gorgeous Feather Falls (https://www.yelp.com/biz/feather-falls-trail-oroville), we made a pit stop the next day at the Lake Oroville Visitor Center. It was only about 45 or so minutes from where we stayed in Marysville and all we had to do was drive up Highway 70 and then east on Highway 162. The visitor center had a pretty big parking lot, there was a large picnic area, and we saw deer roaming around! Not knowing what to expect, we bravely went inside the visitor's center. I honestly believe that the woman who approached us was the same as the one who talked to me on the phone because this lady was SUPER NICE. She eagerly ushered us into the theater room and showed us a zoomed-in image of the Oroville Damn. She discussed the history of the damn and then proceeded to walk us through how to drive to the road nearest the damn that just opened up! Afterwards, she suggested we check out the tower structure that's at the visitor's center. I highly recommend it because that 3 story tower provided AMAZING 360 degree views of the surrounding area. Before we left, we asked if she had any other places we should go to and she also directed us to Bidwell Bridge - supposedly the oldest suspension bridge in the U.S.? We would eventually go there, and had a really fun time! Need to give a major shout-out to the people at the Lake Oroville Visitor Center because they gave us a few awesome things to do for our Sunday morning in the Butte County area. We could have totally just gone home after our hike, but instead had some fun exploring! I give the folks here an "Omg, I'd travel 2 hours for this" rating. have fun and prosper,