As part of our quest to visit all 63 U.S. national parks, we set off on a six week road trip. I have 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. read more

Another gem of a national park. You can see all the volcanic type activity and sulfuric acid that you see in Yellowstone Park on a smaller level. Well worth a stop. We downloaded the National parks app and drove through while reading the audible tour. We also took the Bumpass trail to the hot Springs. Also very cool. read more

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Never have I ever been more impressed with a US National Park!! It's not the biggest, nor does it host the spectacular sites of Yosemite, but Lassen Volcanic National Park is California's GEM!! It is SO clean and SO beautiful and so NOT crowded! The roads are great. The hikes are great. I was SO impressed! I was expecting cinder cones and hot and dry. But, it's a climb to 8000+ ft in a beautiful, wooded forest with hikes to boiling mud pots and hot creeks and sulfur fields. A 100% recommended National Park! read more

Lassen Volcanic National Park - Parks Near Me - Mineral, California

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Only visited Lassen for a short afternoon hike at Manzanita Lake, but what a beautiful park it is. Since it's a National Park there was a $30 entrance fee, no one was at the booth when we arrived, but they had signage on how to pay online, and told you where you could find wifi to do so. We did the Manzanita Lake loop, which was about two miles. The trail was easy but took a long time because we kept stopping to take pictures of the beautiful views. We did the trail clockwise and it took a little while to get to the ultimate view, but I was glad it wasn't immediate so that we had something to really look forward to while on the trail. We parked at the Loomis Museum lot where there was a bathroom and small visitor center/gift shop. Parking was pretty full when we arrived, but emptied out quite a bit when we were leaving. They had kayak rentals on the lake, we had originally planned to do it, but time didn't permit on this trip. Rangers at the visitor center/shop were very knowledgeable, I heard one giving information about the plethora of trials and areas of the park, and wow are there a lot of trials! read more

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I love how this national park is underrated and the shadow to Yosemite! It's so green, quaint, not crowded, well paved roads and hiking paths and etc here. Highlights were : cave (my baby was surprisingly not scared during the trail in the cave), sulphur, beautiful meadows with snowy topped Lassen Mountain View, lake, and etc. the snowy mountain top helps with the weather being tolerable during the summer season - especially mid-July to end of July or so. I can't wait to return. read more

For how relatively close we live to Lassen, it's a shame we didn't make it up here sooner! This park is absolutely beautiful and didn't have nearly the amount of people as we expected. Made for a peaceful trip. There are so many wonderful things to see and do here that I wish we had more time to really explore it all. The Paradise Meadow Trail was a surprisingly wonderful, peaceful trail that had very few people on it and ended with a gorgeous view overlooking a grassy field and the mountains beyond. Very small parking area (5ish spots), so if you wanna do it, take a parking spot when you can! We also hiked the Lassen Peak Trail up to the true summit. Definitely a strenuous hike, but it's worth it at the end when you're looking out over Lassen National Park. But, the gem of Lassen National Park, is Bumpass Hell Trail. Only open for about 4 months of the year, this hike brings you to the park's main hydrothermal area. Both beautiful and awe-inspiring, it's definitely worth the walk. Parking can be tough, so plan ahead. And if you've been to Yellowstone, definitely temper your expectations - it's beautiful but doesn't reach the grandeur of their hydrothermal areas. The only thing on our list we did not get to visit was Manzanita Lake. Wish we could've made it there, but we traded our time for the lake to summit Lassen Peak. So it'll definitely be a must-stop on our return trip. Overall, Lassen was such an incredible time. You can do it in one day if that's all you have, but if you can manage at least 2 days, you'll get to experience more of what the park has to offer. Highly recommend! read more

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Such a cool place!!. One more reason why I love CA, such unique geographic diversity in one state!! We planned our 6 day mini vaca to include this park, arrived at 3:30 pm on a Wed and hiked the Bumpass trail which had recently reopened due to snow closure. Crazy that was closed in July still a weel prior to us coming! This was a 3 mile down and back, moderate hike with stunning views before reaching the thermal pools, which are out of this world! After we took a million photos to include bubbling thermal pools, wild flowers and epic views we continued north driving to the exit of the park after many mini stops. I loved this national park and highly recommend at least spending a day here if you're not up for camping overnight! read more

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Lassen Volcanic National Park is one of the rare locations on Earth where all four main types of volcanoes can be found together. Lassen Volcanic National Park is undeniably beautiful, though it felt somewhat underwhelming to me. I can't quite explain why. The park offers scenic hikes, abundant wildlife, and picturesque lakes, making for enjoyable outdoor experiences. I'd love to experience it again once the crowds subside (I went Labor Day weekend) and the forest has had time to heal from the Dixie Fire. read more

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This park is a hidden gem in northern California. California Highway 89 runs through the park, from the junction of Highway 36 to the junction of Highway 44. The park highway is only open about 6 to 7 months out of the year, due to snow. While the main park highway is closed to vehicles during the winter, visitors can still access the park via snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, or hiking on the closed section of the road. There's lots of hiking available throughout the park, you can see the thermal area at the southern entrance to the park , and hike down to the Bumpass Hell mud pits, which is amazing. You can also hike to the top of Lassen peak, but you need a lot of stamina for that one. There are a lot of beautiful, lakes as well. There is also the devastated area trail left over from the 1915 eruption of lessen peak. Entry is $30 a carload, but there are a large number of discount and free passes that you can get if you qualify. Check the national Park service webpage for the information The day I was there, it was beautiful, and even in July, there was still a lot of snow on the ground. I really enjoyed my visit to the park. read more

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What a gorgeous National Park! There are campgrounds nearby with cabins, pit toilets, and a lake. You can kayak or swim in the lake to cool off. We did Chaos Crags Trail to the Chaos Crater. It had some rocks to hike over near the lake and some beautiful picture spots. Definitely be back! read more

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What an amazing hidden gem! This was well worth the drive from Seattle to spend a few days. Our first day we did multiple smaller trails that took us to amazing lakes and vents. The second day we hiked Mount Lassen and it was defiantly something to remember. Would 100% come back next season as a weekend adventure. read more

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Finally got a chance to visit this National Park. It definitely feels smaller and more lowkey than other popular parks in the California Sierra Nevada. I stayed at Manzanita campground which I felt was perfect. I like how the trail system on the eastern half of park interconnects with each other, which makes it like a build your own adventure. You can definitely see the devastation the Dixie Fire left behind, but that's just nature (and politics/bureacracy) I guess. I highly recommend the Cinder Cone hike. read more

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First time at this park and it was beautiful love the weather and the sights trough all the park read more

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My wife and I spent a long weekend in Redding and a day trip to Lassen Volcanic National Park was in our itinerary. It's about an hour away to the northwest entrance of the park through CA-44, but it was well worth the drive. If you're into volcanoes, this national park has all four types - shield, composite, cinder cone, and plug dome. Lassen Peak, which dominates the park, is the largest plug dome volcano in the world. There are also plenty of meadows, lakes, waterfalls, and hiking trails here. Volcanic activities are very evident as can be seen at the hydrothermal section at Sulphur Works where gas and steam vents are on display. There are plenty of trails within the park and the longest one we did was the 2.8-mile out-and-back Kings Creek Falls Trail. The viewpoint at the end of the trail was beautiful, but it was the trek back along the cascades that was very special. The loops around the Reflection and Manzanita lakes were 0.7 and 2.2 miles, respectively, but they took us longer to complete because we were checking every spot for the best reflection on the water. We got our steps in that day and enjoyed the amazing views in the park. We had the "America the Beautiful" annual pass during that time and we were trying to get to as many national parks and recreational sites as we can. We were very glad we took the time to visit Lassen Volcanic National Park. read more

Lassen Volcanic National Park - Manzanita Lake... - Parks Near Me - Mineral, California

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Two separate reviews: #1. This review is for Cold Boiling Lake Trail To Bumpass Hell which was a ~5.2 miles round trip that took ~3 hour to complete. Bumpass Hell Trail (2.7 miles) was still closed; the only way to reach Bumpass Hell was by Cold Boiling Lake Trail (5.2 miles). Trail starts off with a wide dirt road that eventually becomes a narrow incline towards the top. There were remnants of a fire but that doesn't detract from the rest of the views including Cold Boiling Lake and Crumbaugh Lake! The loop of the Bumpass Hell Boardwalk was still incomplete as of this date. Reminds me of Yellowstone but to a smaller extent. The steam from the geysers have an unpleasant sulfur smell. Short video of the hike for those interested! https://youtu.be/UnljdmEFLGI #2. This review is for Terrace, Shadow & Cliff Lakes which was a ~3.4 miles round trip that took ~2.25 hour to complete. Terrace, Shadow & Cliff Lakes was one of the must do hikes in Lassen Volcanic NP! Trail was slightly hard to follow near the beginning. However, it was a decline for the most part to the three lakes and a tough incline back out. There were some snow on the edge of the first lake (Terrace Lake) but do-able without microspikes. The second lake (Shadow Lake) would be the most stunning out of the three! Limited parking on the side of Lassen Peak Hwy. Short video of the hike for those interested! https://youtu.be/jb_xxptwCKw read more

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There are so much less people at this place than Yosemite. The drive here is also less harrowing. Super chill with a lot of great trails. Crags lake is more like a pond, but aside from that, every thing was awesome. If you see an old man selling firewood at the Lake Manzanita entrance, buy it from him! (We got 2 bundles for $15.) He charges half the price of the firewood at the general store. Wood is dry and burns well. read more

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Lassen Volcanic National Park is such a hidden gem in Northern California. It's definitely such a far trek to get up north, but it's so worth it. The views are just incomparable and it's so peaceful out there. We went a bit late in the year during October, so there were some areas blocked off and a bit more chilly. However, you get to experience the snow covered mountains of Lassen. It was amazing to do the hikes and it wasn't too crowded so at times it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. I'll definitely be back again soon! read more

Lassen Volcanic National Park - Parks Near Me - Mineral, California

If Mount St. Helens and Yellowstone had a baby, it would be Lassen Volcanic National Park. This national park is absolutely stunning, with its hydrothermal areas and a mountain range in the northern California area that's unforgettable. My partner and I visited Lassen Volcanic National Park for a long weekend to hike around, and despite bringing the rain from Seattle, we had a fun time, exploring an area we had never been to before. Lassen Volcanic National Park is located in the northern part of California, around the Redding area. It's easy to spend a weekend here, and will say that if you're packing your agenda with full-day activities then you'll be able to see all the highlights of this national park. It's a large national park, but is doable for a weekend trip unlike some other national parks, where you'll need more time in. Most people arrive to this national park from the south west entrance, which is the entrance closest to the hydrothermal areas and takes you along the main road where you can see the most popular sites at this park. If you can only see one highlight, it's Bumpass Hell, which is the largest hydrothermal area in the park. It's a short hike where you can see from above the area with the mountain range and then provides a boardwalk where you're literally walking above magma! Pretty dang awesome and such a unique experience! My favorite part of Lassen Volcanic National Park was hiking a cinder cone, which is the first time I've ever hiked a cinder cone and can see the crater from above. And since it's a cinder cone, you're hiking on lava rocks. I'm so glad we were able to discover this underrated national park that doesn't get as much praise as the other national parks in California or the country, as there was much more to see than what we anticipated. It was a fun trip for hiking and exploring and would recommend anyone visiting this part of the country to make a weekend trip at Lassen. read more

Lassen Volcanic National Park - Mount Lassen - Parks Near Me - Mineral, California

We've been wanting to come here for such a long time and we're so glad we did! This national park was such a cool and unique experience. We came on a Tuesday in August and fortunately, it was only 80 degrees which is perfect hiking weather. We recommend entering the park from the south entrance so that the gift shop can be your first stop since it closes early. Our first hike was the Bumpass Hell trail. We originally expected this trial to be fairly short however it turns out that it is actually closer to 3 miles and I pretty much struggled toward the end. The drive in general is just very beautiful! read more

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It is a quite nice park if you avoid the hikes where there was the fire (for instance, Hiking Mill Creek Falls Trail).  It was a very steep trail, at times quite dangerous, and you get ash all over your body even if you do not fall at all. What I did like was the Emerald and Helen Lakes. They were still frozen in July and there was snow around them, so it was quite unique and beautiful.  P.S. The workers at the visitor center were very very nice. read more

Lassen Volcanic National Park - Parks Near Me - Mineral, California

Gotta say i was pretty impressed with this place. Love being surrounded by the strong & adventurous spirit of all the folks that come here to climb this mountain. Standing at the bottom, you wonder how you'll ever reach the top. All you can see if how steep it is. As you get going, you are surrounded by amazing views; as you keep going it only gets better. I was still suprised to see snow here in July but loved it nonetheless. Didnt get to hike all the way to the summit because of the time & the long drive back home- but definitely want to come back. There is so much to explore in this beautiful area. read more

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Lassen Volcanic National Park is underrated. This park has so much to offer without being crowded even during peak season. There's numerous hiking trails and the most popular one is the Bumpass Hell, it's 3.5 miles round trip and it leads you to the boiling sulphuric springs. I would rate the hike as moderate. Hubs fell on the trail, as it is rocky and lots of uphill/downhill sling the trail. We did see a gentleman in a motorized scooter but I wouldn't recommend it because the trail isn't paved. Lake Helen is absolutely breathtaking and Manzanita Lake was just as lovely. We did purchase food to eat inside the park at a neighboring town. Pack lots of snacks and drinks because you'll easily spend hours exploring. read more

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Camping over 4th of July weekend. Lost creek campgrounds site 2. Potable water available at the site but only vault bathrooms, no showers or flush toilets or bathroom sink. Manzanita campground has flush toilets and the showers are $5 for unlimited use till the next morning 8am. Hiked around Manzanita Lake, reflection lake and lily pond. Also drove from North to South seeing the 12 stops on the auto tour available as mp3 download from nps.gov app. $30 entrance fee - good for 7 days. read more

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Truly such an amazing geological wonder! It's hard for me to believe that Lassen Volcanic National Park is one of the most underrated California national parks in the system. I mean, Lassen is so unique and so striking. It's one of the few California National Parks where you'll actually be able to see and walk through snow all year around. What makes Lassen even more unique is its' special volcanic element. You'll be able to witness live Sulphur works up close and personal here. It's an experience unlike any other. Aside from its' volcanic elements, Lassen truly stuns when it comes to the nature scene. It's a large park with tons of hiking trails, vibrant lakes, and flourishing waterfalls. Lush greenery, tall shady trees, and gorgeous views of the snow capped mountains await you. The mountainous backdrops are seriously breathtaking and will make you do a double take. Scenic is truly an understatement. The amazing views are simply endless. I hiked the Kings Creek Falls loop during the late springtime, and there was still so much snow on the trails and mountains. The waterfalls and creeks were flourishing at full capacity though. The air is so clean and fresh and the wild life is pretty rampant. Since this park is one of the most underrated, there really aren't too big of crowds which is nice. But many of the hiking trails don't have a parking lot, so you should be prepared to park along the road and to arrive early to secure a decent parking spot. As far as the weather goes, it gets HAWT up here during the warmer months! Even though there was tons of snow in late spring, the temperature warmed up fast! Would definitely recommend bringing lots of water and to dress in layers. There's a small visitor center with a gift shop and cafe that you can check out while you're in the park. It isn't the biggest visitors center, but there are rangers there to assist with any questions that you may have. The drive through the park is beautiful too. Lots of places to stop off for picture taking and scenic views. And the lakes! Dear Geezuuus! Lake Helen is jaw dropping! It was still halfway frozen at the end of May, but damn was it gorgeous to look at! This is one of the popular hot spots that you must see if you have time. Lassen is quite huge and you can definitely spend weeks here exploring if you have the time. Some of the staging areas of the park are closed during certain seasons, so make sure to check the National Park Systems website before you head there. Don't let its' less popular reputation fool you; Lassen has so much to offer and it absolutely worth a visit. read more

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An absolute gem. Surprisingly not too many visitors as some other parks. There are a variety of trails and things to see. We didn't do any hard trails because of kids and elders. Short quick trail to see is the cold boiling lake. 1 mile round trip. Fairly easy trail with wild flowers along sides and lots of bees and butterfly. Surprising there is still ice/snow in south of the park by Lassen peak trailhead if you feel like a snow flight. So much wild flowers and wild life not to mention the gorgeous view. There are also many trails for avid hikers as well. read more

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Lassen NP is beautiful right now. Near Summit Lake, the wildflowers are in peak bloom, still! Really glad this less-visited national park is not overwhelmingly crowded in full summer like Yosemite is. This is a place where you don't have to deal with massive overcrowding. You can go forth and enjoy the many lakes and trails in July and August. The parking isn't too crowded, either. It's a wonderful place to go to escape the heat of the central valley. I recommend a stop at the southern entrance visitor center. It's a good place to go to get your bearings and plan where you want to visit in the park. There's a small cafe if you want a snack and head and packed anything. The gift shop is full of cool souvenirs even though they are kind of pricey. There's a small theater showing films about the area and the geology of how it was formed. read more

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Great National Park that deserves much more attention! A major problem visiting is the snow that lingers through May into June. I visited the last week of May 2024 and the park road was partially closed due to up to 12' of snow on that road. If that road is closed then it's an hour and a half drive to reach the other side of the park. So visit in late June, July, and August to hike up Lassen Peak, see the many waterfalls, the sulphur pits, and many volcanos! As of June 2024 showers are down in Manzanita Campground due to a tree falling on that building. read more

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Lassen Volcanic National Park is an absolute hidden gem! My first time there was in 2020 and then again in mid-2022. I've been in California for decades and can't believe I only recently discovered it. Depending on where you are in the bay area, the drive up is around 4 hours. The roads in the park were just repaved a few weeks prior to our last visit. Because we visited on a random Tuesday late afternoon, the park was virtually empty. Plenty of parking at the Bumpass hell lot! We did the ~3.5mile round trip hike to check out the boiling sulphur mud pits. The boardwalks enable us to actually walk through that beautiful area without injury. Lake Helen is pretty much across the road from the Bumpass trailhead. We stopped there after the hike to skip stones and to admire the clear blue lake. I saw people dipping their toes in, others were out for a swim, whatever you do there I'm sure it will be amazing. The scenery, trees, landscape in this park is just breathtaking! read more

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What's up: On the road trip up north, we planned to stop by and visit the park. I was excited to check out the volcanic activity that the park had to offer. Parking: Most places that we stopped at had parking lots and they weren't too packed and a pots were easy to find. Environment: The place is pretty and even prettier when you're enjoying the view by the lakes. I was excited to go on the hikes, Bumpass Hell specifically, but when we got there, the trail was still closed to snow! This just goes to show that no matter how nice and pretty things are from the road (because we didn't see any snow there), there might still be snow on the inside! Depending on your locations, you might get to smell the lovely sulfur scent...mmmm rotten eggs haha! What was ordered: Entrance fee is $30. We had the America the Beautiful Annual Pass which covered our entry. Yay/Nay/Meh: Yay. As with pretty much all national parks, the place is gorgeous. I thought that with the warmer weather, the snow would have melted but there's still some leftover that prevented us from going on our hikes. We'll try this again next time we're here. read more

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Lassen is so underrated and remains one of my absolute favorite national parks in California and the United States for so many reasons. The landscape is truly unique and almost extraterrestrial. The volcanic activity in this region makes it like a mini Yellowstone national park with so many different hot springs, thermal pools, geysers, and so much more. My favorite sites in and around Lassen: 1. Bumpass Hell - must! 2. Manzanita Lake 3. Sulphur Works 4. Cinder Cone- must! 5. Lassen Peak- strenuous hike but worth it! 6. McBurney Falls- must! read more

Mount Lassen. What can I say? How many places can you go to in your life and say that you drove over the top of dormant volcano? Bubbling mud pots, steaming sulfur vents, volcanic Rubble, Land vaulting, cinder cone plugs, alluvion fans, and so much more that you would expect around an active volcano. Every Vista endless, every corner a picture postcard, Wildlife abundant, Flowers In Bloom everywhere if you're there at the right time of year, and though there were many visitors it was never crowded when we were there. This is part of our amazing and wonderful and mysterious history of California. Between 1900 and 1919 there were five major eruptions off of this mountain. Geologically that was yesterday. But you really need to go there and see it for yourself. And don't do it for a day cama plan two or three days. And there's plenty to do around the mountain before you even get up on it itself fishing camping hiking is endless. There's so many things that you can do here but the views oh my gosh the views. Bring a camera bring several cameras. You will never get tired of this mountain where every corner that you see. If you like my review please vote below. Do I recommend going to this place not only yes but heck yes. I was looking at some of the places that were in the countryside around it thinking that wouldn't be a bad idea. I do like to fish and many of them were for sale. So planning your next trip include a lot of food in a picnic basket and plenty of time to enjoy the surrounding areas. Also in the area you might want to visit the subway tunnel caves and Burney Falls. That would make the drive a complete package. read more

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We already own the National Park Pass and this is one of our favorites to frequent for all seasons. Note: it pays itself off within a few uses. We came on April 17th which was free park day and on the 18th. The park was only opened from the park entrance off of 89 (where Manzanita Lake sits) up to ten miles to the open parking lot. The restrooms at the "visitor center" was open and clean. The porta potties at the open parking lot was open too. Where the road is closed, the snow was plowed up to 4.75 miles and it stopped there. You can still run or hike or walk your bike over the snow and go up farther. Summit lake is completely frozen but beautiful for photos. Ton of skiers and snowboarders. Even after the free admission day visitors took advantage of the perfect weather condition. read more

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For the very 1st time, I've visited Lassen Volcanic National Park earlier this year! I highly recommend visiting this gorgeous location, especially since this National Park is a lot less crowded than Yosemite. Lassen Volcanic National Park is one of the few areas in the world where all four types of volcano can be found. Plug dome, shield, cinder cone, and stratovolcano. You can also check out Sulphur Works, which is said to be the volcanic center of the ancestral Mount Tehama. Deep within the Earth, a network of pockets of partially molten rock forms the active Lassen magmatic system. Heat generated from the magma warms ground water to a boil. The water bubbles & steams upward through cracks & appears at Sulphur Works & other hydrothermal areas found within the parks. Although it does smell! There are also numerous clear lakes at Lassen Volcanic National Park, such as Emerald Lake & Lake Helen. There are also plenty of beautiful hiking trails too. Since the elevation is high here, it is a lot cooler when you visit Lassen, where we were able to still see snow on the ground in the month of July! I'm looking forward to visiting Lassen National Park again. read more

Lassen Volcanic National Park - Some of the gorgeous views! - Parks Near Me - Mineral, California

The Butte Lake and Warner Valley campgrounds are suffering from lack of management. There were no hosts and no rangers with only maintenance workers trying to deal with camper issues and dirty bathrooms. Both campgrounds are out of cell range and yet both sites rely solely on online reservations. If you have any issues with your site, you're screwed. It's great if you show up. with 10 people in one non group site and want to party, but for most of us that's not what we come for. I couldn't even find a way to pay at Warner Valley when utilizing an un-reserved site. Think about that. Superintendent Worely should be fired for running a National Park this poorly. Perhaps this is partially due to DOGE cuts and if so, then let's fire Trump while we're at it. You don't reduce waste and fraud and then make it impossible to pay your fair share. read more

It's been about a week and Lassen Volcanic National Park is still on my mind. Can I go back in time?! I arrived on a Saturday, mid-October, around 1030am, line moved quickly at the gate. $30 for a day or $55 for a year, ended up with an annual pass. Weather was awesome, sunny with a light breeze and in the low 60s. Challenge accepted to the Lassen Peak Trail, which was probably the toughest trail with difficulty level of 4 out of 4 and the highest elevation point. Barely 15 minutes in, I was huffing and puffing. Many hours later, finally arrived to the top. The views throughout were breathtaking, literally. Coming down was faster, but more dangerous at certain parts because of the steepness. 5 hours later, I was ready for another trail. Summit Loop Trail ranked at a difficulty of 2 out of 4. By then, the race was on to complete to/from while beating the sunset or be left in the dark. Got back to the car in the nick of time of 630pm. I missed the prime of the sunset, but still caught glimmers here and there while capturing a photo or two. My favorite part was the night time sky, pulled over to gaze up at the stars. They were all shining so brightly. The brightest being Venus and Mars. I could stare at these stars for hours! Last stop before leaving the park was looking, hearing, and smelling the natural sulphur in the dark. There's a small parking lot near by for easy access. I'm counting down the days to return to this gorgeous gem. Fun fact: Lassen Volcanic National Park is the LEAST visited national park in the US. #26/2020 read more

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ROAD CLOSURES DUE TO SNOW (SEPT '22) We had planned our visit to Lassen 9 months in advance as part of a NorCal road trip. Unfortunately, the day we had scheduled for Lassen, the middle section of road in the park was closed due to snowfall (We were not expecting snow in September!) We'd planned the visit a long time in advance, put in a lot of research and paid a lot of money to make the visit possible, so we were very disappointed that our day was disrupted. Lassen might be a better place for locals to visit when they can monitor the closures and just 'pop in', verses visitors that have traveled a long way and only have one shot to see it, at which point, it's a bit of a gamble as to whether it will be fully open. Fortunately, we did manage to see a few sights in the park but I caution others that this park seems to get a lot of closures due to weather or fires. I understand that's just Mother Nature. Also, the park communication could be improved. We were relying on a recorded phone message on the park's phone line for updates as we were traveling. WE SAW WHAT WE COULD We salvaged the day by seeing the Loomis Museum where you can watch a 20 minute film, talk with rangers, get your N.P. passport stamped and buy souvenirs. Overall, it's fairly small, offers a small range of things to buy and there's no food available. From there we were able to drive into the park until right before Summit Lake, (About 10 miles in) following an audio tour on our phone. (Downloaded beforehand). We did a few pull-outs and a short hike through some burned areas and saw some pretty scenery. It was very quiet and felt a little eerie. DROVE ALMOST 2 HOURS OUT OF OUR WAY TO GET TO THE OTHER ENTRANCE Due to the road closure we had to turn around at Summit Lake, retrace our route and drive an HOUR AND 50 MINUTES to the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center near the southwest entrance. This visitor center is on the newer side and consisted of a gift shop, a cafe (which was CLOSED!) and educational interpretive boards. There was construction going on, (Sept '22) so we had to enter through the back door and fumes and dust coming into the building were so bad that we had to wear our Covid masks that luckily we had on hand. The whole place seemed kind of lifeless. Luckily we'd brought our own pack-lunch and sat and ate it on the cafe chairs watching the rain come down. Hrrmmff. From the Kohm Yah-mah-nee visitor center we were able to visit the Sulpher Works which are natural bubbling mud pots with some interpretive boards. It was raining, which added to the whole dour mood of the day. Due to the road closure we were unable to see Summit Lake, Kings Creek Picnic Area, Lassen Peak Trail/Scenic Viewpoint, Lake Helen and Bumpass interpretive trail/scenic viewpoint. Luckily we had an America The Beautiful pass so we didn't feel like we'd wasted the entrance fee too much. If I planned it again, I would visit in the height of summer. The sights we did see were OK. Due to the remote location of the park, it's unlikely we will ever go back. WHERE TO STAY Immediately prior to our visit, we stayed in Redding (Not much to see there!) and afterwards we stayed in Susanville (Even less to see there!) It's probably a more immersive experience if you camp in the park, but that's not our jam. read more

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First time visiting Lassen was August 2022. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I enjoyed visiting here more, in many regards, than Yosemite. You have all the waterfalls (albeit not as tall,) granite, meadows, lakes and sweeping views without the crowds and hassle. I'm not a camper so I stayed in the town of Chester which was a short drive to the Southwestern entrance to the park. Arriving on summer Sunday, there was only one car at the kiosk before me. The main highway through Lassen features more than enough to see and do without having to drive to the more far flung areas of the park. The 2021 Dixie fire effects can be seen even in the main park area, but thankfully many trails in the park remained untouched by fire or were reopened by the time of my visit. The visitor centers are impressive with well stocked gift shops, helpful rangers, info on the park and a well made 30 minute documentary film about the history of the area. Being a geology nerd, I found the landscape of the park fascinating. As for my itinerary, with a full two days in the park, I managed to hike and see quite a bit. Day 1: Hike to Cliff, Terrace and Shadow lakes, hike around Manzanita lake, sulphur works, scenic pull offs along the main highway, film at the visitor center Day 2: Bumpass Hell hike, Hat Lake to Paradise Meadow, Kings Creek Meadow area. I didn't get to go out to the cinder cone area and missed out on kings creek falls. But this just gives me more than enough reason to go back. What was nice about the hikes I did was that they were not crowded, you could get to pristine alpine lakes (first hike of day 1 to Terrace Lake) in a shorter hike and there is so much variety in landscapes even on the main park highway. This just might be my favorite California National park! read more

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We spent roughly one and a half days exploring Lassen. Highlights: - Bumpass hell trail: 3 mile roundtrip hike. Do this early! Limited shade and the parking lot gets full fast! We got there around 9am and it was perfect. Make sure you loop through the newly constructed boardwalk and then back up the frying pan trail so you get to see everything there is to see. Bring water, sunscreen and a hat. - Lake Helen (near Bumpass trail): Gorgeous! It's crystal clear. Dip your feet in the water to feel just how cold it is too. - Sulphur works: Check out the bubbling mudpots and get a good whiff of the sulfur. It's on the way to Bumpass, and an easy stop. Skip: - Manzanita lake: Currently, you can only use a hard sided boat here due to some river otters attacking a couple swimmers. - Drakesbad: On the other side of the park, and quite a long, gravel-road journey to get there. I was so happy I didn't book my stay here after reading reviews and seeing it for myself! As pricy as the Ritz, but as classy as a rundown lodge. We were also going to check out Devil's kitchen when we were there, but it was so hot, we skipped it when we read that it was the trail people took when Bumpass was closed for construction of the boardwalk. read more

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April is still a winter Season at Lassen Volcanic National Park. We went to the Southwest Area of the Park where the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center is located. Park's highway is still closed for vehicle access because they still have so much snow as you can see in the photos. If you don't want to snowshoe or cross country ski, you can check out Sulphur works Hydrothermal Area. It's a 2 miles hike roundtrip from Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center. Visitors can take the plowed park highway to reach the steamy, boiling mud pots. The temperature was around low 50's mid Early April but it was comfortable for us. This park has so much beauty to offer. Gorgeous geological site. We look forward to our next visit already and this time explore the Manzanita Lake area in the Northwest side of the park. Visit nps.org/lavo to see operational hours. read more

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Beautiful park so much to see so many big trails so many different levels of trails. So much beauty It was not crowded when we arrived we did the long scenery drive which was. Nice but will probably not do it again. Next time we will just go to where we would like to hike We drive around stopped at a few lakes and hiking trails we hike down to bumpass hell and stopped at the sulfur spot wish we had more time to stay so we will definitely come back again They have some nice camping sites we saw campers enjoying their time and others coming in for the day for picnics or hiking. It's a beautiful park read more

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