Looking down at a river winding through a meadow
California,  Monday walks,  Mountains

Exploring Lassen Volcanic National Park

December 17, 2024 / 33 Comments

The love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth…the only home we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need – if only we had eyes to see.

Edward Abbey, quoted on the Lassen Volcanic National Park website

In 1914 a volcano in north eastern California, Lassen Peak, blew its top. Its outbursts continued for three years but it now lies dormant, at the heart of the national park that bears its name. Much of the park is wilderness, but a road runs north to south through its western section, giving access to many trails and vista points.

Starting in the north, as we did, means that you travel from relatively lush landscapes, with rivers, deciduous trees and meadows, before climbing to the road’s highest point near Lassen peak and descending into a different world of mountains and thermal activity. The contrast was made more evident when we were there by the devastation caused in the southern part of the park by a wildfire in 2021 and another just before our visit.

The park had only reopened a month before our arrival and parts were still closed. But almost all of what we wanted to do was accessible and the road itself was fully open, thankfully. Had we visited in July we would not have been so fortunate. The park service made this announcement at that time:

Three years after the Dixie Fire consumed much of the eastern portion of Lassen Volcanic National Park, the massive Park Fire is approaching the park’s western edge, prompting National Park Service officials to close the park. Visitors have been evacuated from all campgrounds, and reservations have been cancelled. All park employees have been evacuated from park housing and their homes in the community, most staying in hotels.

The Park Fire was so-named because it was started, deliberately, in a park in the town of Chico some miles to the south, as I described in one of my California ‘Postcards’. It had only been fully contained about a week before our arrival at the park’s northern entrance.

Man fishing from a small boat on a lake surrounded by trees
Man fishing from a small boat on a lake surrounded by trees

Manzanita Lake

Following the road from north to south

We spent most of the day here enjoying several short walks, which I want to share for this week’s Monday Walk with Jo. We’ll also take in some wonderful scenery from various shorter stops we made on our route through the park.

The Lily Pond Trail

Just inside the park entrance we stopped to take photos of Manzanita Lake. Our first main stop however was at the northern visitor centre to pick up a map. From here we crossed the road to follow the Lily Pond Trail. This also took in views of Reflection Lake (although it was a bit breezy for good reflections).

For all the galleries in this post, just click on any image to see a slideshow with captions

Lake surrounded by fir trees
Bird perched on a log on the ground
Two fir cones on the ground
Small lake covered in water lily pads
The Devastated Area

We then made several shorter stops in the central part of the park. At the Devastated Area another short trail took us among boulders thrown here during the eruptions in the early part of the last century.

Small rodent on a boulder
Mountain framed by fir trees
Large boulders on the ground between tree trunks
Hat Creek

And at Hat Creek we saw a pretty little waterfall. The meadow here is considered is one of the most colourful spots in the park for autumn foliage. And yes, in early October the fall colours were just appearing.

Small stream, fir and aspen trees, mountain in the distance
Stream tumbling over rocks
Small stream running by long grass
Kings Creek

Kings Creek too was a pretty spot, with a picnic area and tables overlooking a meadow, so we had a snack lunch there. From the meadow here there are great views of Lassen Peak, while the creek meanders through it with several small falls and mini rapids.

Stream running through a meadow surrounded by fir trees
Stream running through a meadow surrounded by fir trees
Small waterfall
Grass and fir trees
Dry grass, fir trees and bare mountain
Mountains and lakes

After lunch we made a series of short stops at various viewpoints. Our first was at the Lassen Peak viewpoint. The mountain is 10,457 feet high, and is one of the world’s largest plug dome volcanoes. My feature photo was also taken near here.

Bare mountain with a few fir trees
Lassen Peak view

The road wound around deep blue Lake Helen, an alpine lake at the base of Lassen Peak. The views as we drove past looked great and we were glad to find somewhere to pull over to take a few photos. The lake is named after Helen Tanner Brodt, the first white woman to reach the summit of Lassen Peak.

Deep blue lake surrounded by mountains
Lake Helen

In contrast to the blue of Lake Helen, Emerald Lake lives up to its name with a beautiful deep green colour which it gets from the vegetation that grows in its shallow waters.

Deep green lake, fir trees and mountain
Emerald Lake
Bumpass Hell

We lingered longer at the Bumpass Hell stop, between Lake Helen and Emerald Lake, where there were dramatic views over the valley below. The view takes in another of the park’s volcanoes, Brokeoff Volcano. At the edge of the vista point is a large boulder, a glacial erratic transported by a glacier and deposited here.

Panorama of mountains and fir trees
Large boulder perched on rock ledge
View of mountains and fir trees

We didn’t however attempt the trail to Bumpass Hell, the largest hydrothermal area in the park; I felt the steepness would be a bit much for me.

Sulphur Works

At Sulphur Works geothermal activity can be observed right next to the road. The park website describes this as a ‘vent for the last rumblings of a long-dead volcano’. It goes on to explain that,

Sulphur Works hydrothermal area sits at the center of a wide basin surrounded by towering volcanic peaks. Geologists have determined that the encircling peaks (Brokeoff Mountain, Mount Diller, Pilot Pinnacle, and Mount Conard) are all remnants of a large, eroded volcano called Brokeoff Volcano, or Mount Tehama.

Bubbles in mud and steam rising
Bubbles in mud
Rock spattered with orange colours

There were bubbling mud pools, steam rising and a strong smell of sulphur in the air. My video gives a better idea of the scene than any still photo can do, although it can’t convey the smell!

Sulphur Works

We walked a little way up the Ridge Lakes Trail which starts here but it seemed to be taking us further from the action rather than closer, so we didn’t go beyond the first few bends in the path.

Mountainside with fir trees and splashes of colour on the rocks
Contorted tree trunk on rock

On the Ridge Lakes Trail

That was our final stop before exiting the park at the end of the afternoon. Despite the fire we’d seen a lot and had a good insight into how the Earth’s movements had shaped this region.

I visited Lassen Volcanic National Park in October 2024

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