California has some of the most iconic national parks, if not the most iconic with Yosemite. But, one that is lesser known and visited is Lassen Volcanic National Park. Here I will tell you why we think it is the most underrated CA national park, and why you should definitely check it out if you’re in NorCal. First off, we will start with some info on the park to get you started.
Where is it?
Lassen Volcanic National Park is located in north east California, way up there. Below is a list of how far of a drive it is from major cities/attractions to Manzanita Campground where we stayed:
- Redding, CA: ~1 hour
- Reno, NV: ~2.5-3 hours
- Sacramento, CA (SMF): ~3-3.5 hours
- Medford, OR: ~3-3.5 hours
- Lake Tahoe, CA: ~3.5-4.5 hours (North vs South)
- San Francisco, CA (SFO): ~4.5 hours
- Redwoods National Park: ~4.5-5 hours
When to visit?
July to September is the prime season. Due to its elevation, snow is a factor, and the roads take awhile to clear in the spring time. We visited in the last week of September and it was a lovely time to visit. Temps are typically very nice during the day (60s-70s), and chilly at night (30s-40s) on average during the summer months. The weather followed this pattern while we were there, and it was perfect hiking and camping weather for us.
Of course, with this being the prime season, there will be more people. But, what we found is that even on a weekend that you would expect to be busy, there were not that many people. It is more remote and lesser known, so that will obviously lead to a less crowded park.
Our Weekend Trip to Lassen…
We visited Lassen the first time we were on contract in Stockton in central California. Stockton is about an hour south of Sacramento, so it made it about 4.5 hour drive for us. This made for a long day as we left after work on a Friday.
This was a normal weekend, so we needed to squeeze as much as we could into the 2 days we were there. Of course, things would be a bit more relaxed if you have another day or two to get to things.
Where we stayed
As mentioned above, we were able to snag a campground at the Manzanita Lake Campground for the weekend. It is a great campground. One thing we would suggest is trying to not be right by the group campground spot. There happened to be a large group, with a bunch of kids. They were a bit loud, but they were just being kids and having fun. Since we were gone most of the day anyways, it was not a big deal for us.
With how remote Lassen is, the light pollution is minimal. So, the star gazing was freaking phenomenal! Seemingly millions of stars dotted the sky, and we could even see the Milky Way with the naked eye. The lake nearby is great as well, although we did not use it, only saw it as we walked and drove by.
There are lots of options for campgrounds in and around the park. Summit Lake Campground looks like another great option. Or you can look into the options just outside the park on either side.
We love car camping, and you can see how we car camp here. If you are not able to snag one of the campgrounds that you are looking for, you can see how we find some of our other car camping spots here.
What we did (Our Itinerary)
Our top priorities were hiking Lassen Peak and Brokeoff Mountain, checking out Bumpass Hell, Lake Helen, and Sulphur Works. The Dixie Fire in 2021 burned ~70% of the park, so we were not able to do any of the hikes on the eastern side of the park. I am not sure we would have had time or energy anyways, but there are some beautiful looking areas there as well.
As mentioned above, we only had the weekend. Friday night was for making the drive in. So I will break it down to what we did Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday
Brokeoff Mountain
This trail is generally considered as “hard.” We felt it was a decent challenge, but not overly difficult for prepared hikers. It is ~7 miles round trip, with ~2500 feet of elevation gain. It tops out at 9,239 feet of elevation, and is the second highest peak in the park.
The trail starts through wooded forest, and eventually you make it above the tree line. This is where the wind picks up a little bit. We really enjoyed this hike. The views at the top of Lassen Peak and the seemingly never ending rolling hills and lakes in the distance were absolutely majestic.
Highly recommend this hike if you are in Lassen!
Bumpass Hell
This is the largest geothermal area in the park, and a pretty popular spot. It is named after an unlucky guy who settled and worked in the area, and found the geothermal area after breaking through the ground and burning his leg (allegedly).
The trail is a 3 mile round trip relatively easy hike, with 200 feet of elevation gain. It is a really interesting area to check out, and is really neat to see all the ground activity and different colors.
We went later in the afternoon after we got done hiking Brokeoff Mountain, so there were less people overall. It is definitely worth checking out, just go real early or later to miss some of the crowds.
Sulphur Works
Sulphur Works is a really easy spot to see some good geothermal activity right along the road. You get some cool views of the bubbling sulphur up close, a variety of colors, and of course the lovely smells that come from it. It is a quick, easy pit stop that is worth while.
At this point, we were ready to start heading back to camp to settle in and have some dinner. It is about an hour drive back from Sulphur Works to Manzanita, but it is through the beautiful park at least. Chili Frito pie and the fire pit made for a great way to relax and end the evening.
Sunday
Lake Helen
We woke up early to get coffee and breakfast going, and pack up the car. Our goal was to get to Lake Helen before our hike so there were less people and better lighting for the reflection of Lassen Peak on Lake Helen.
It was a nice, crisp, calm morning that made for a great photo of the reflection on the water.
Lassen Peak
The Lassen Peak trailhead parking lot is not far from Lake Helen, so be ready to get going. This trail is ~5 miles and just under 2,000 feet of elevation gain, and is generally considered “hard.” Lassen Peak is the tallest peak in the park, coming in at 10,457 feet. Be aware of how your body responds to elevation, and head back down if feeling signs/symptoms of altitude sickness.
You can really feel the “volcanic” effect on this trail. There is much less greenery, and a ton of volcanic rock at the top. I would say this trail is more difficult than Brokeoff in a “technical” aspect. There is a bit of scramble at the top, and there was still plenty of snow on the ground. Take your time, and make sure you have good footing.
The views at the top were, once again, absolutely stunning! You cannot go wrong with either one of these big hikes.
Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center
After this, we needed to start our journey back home. But, not without a stop at the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center of course. As most people do, we always try to find a good national park sticker at all the parks we go to. Erin likes to do the whole “sticker on water bottle” thing, and she found her favorite coffee mug that she uses almost every day here.
Bye-bye Lassen
Lassen Volcanic National Park is such a great park, and is truly under rated in our opinion. The variety, the hiking, the views, the “less-crowdedness,” and the history of the park make it so unique and so cool to visit. We would highly recommend this park to people of all ages and activity levels. You can do so many things, many of which we were not able to fit in. Hopefully we will be able to visit again in the future!
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