We had the most amazing 2 days in Lassen Volcanic National Park! This park, which is sadly overlooked in a state with Yosemite, Death Valley, Redwood, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and other beautiful spots, should be a destination on your road trip because it is so unique!
Unique meaning a mini-Yellowstone, Haleakala, or Mount Rainier. This park is home to both the world’s largest plug dome volcano (Lassen Peak) but also is home to all 4 types of volcanoes (plug dome, shield, cinder cone, and stratovolcano), which is rare in such close proximity. It is also home to a geothermal area named Bumpass Hell that feels like Yellowstone. You also have some higher elevation areas that felt like a high elevation mountain.
We approached the park from Redding, having left Redwood National Park that morning, and enjoyed the beautiful drive on Highway 299 through Whiskeytown National Recreation Area and a hike to Crystal Creek Falls in Whiskeytown and Burney Falls close to Lassen. After that we headed to our rental home near Viola/Shingletown, which was a perfect location for exploring the park.
Day 1: Bumpass Hell
On our first of an amazing 2 days in Lassen Volcanic National Park we visited the main Visitor Center, named Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center, to pick up our Junior Ranger books as the Loomis Museum (the other Visitor Center near the entrance we came in) was not yet open for the day.
We then began our drive back along the Lassen Volcanic National Park highway starting at the Sulphur Works area where we began our exploration of the park.
After a quick walk around this area we got back in the car and headed for our biggest priority for the day – and now that the fog that had enveloped the area was clearing – Bumpass Hell. Named after an explorer whose last name is Bumpass. He found out the hard way that this 16 acre hydrothermal area existed by literally falling in a thermal pot and eventually losing his leg to the injury.
Bumpass Hell alone is worth the trip to this park and a must do on your amazing 2 days in Lassen Volcanic National Park. It is now safe so long as you stay on the boardwalk and defined trail, so thankfully no one should lose a leg anymore! The hike is about 3 miles long and includes a climb at first but then you begin your descent down to the main feature.
Note that the time of year you come matters significantly as this part of the park, and the main park road itself, is closed due to snow for much of the year.
Leaving Bumpass Hell we headed back toward Manzanita Lake and stopped at the park overlooks that were fogged over on our drive in to the park. We stopped at the Devastated Area, Chaos Crags, and finally Loomis Museum near Manzanita Lake and learned more about the history of the park and area.
Our final activity on our first of an amazing 2 days in Lassen Volcanic was to walk along Manzanita Lake along the park road. We got about halfway around and were able to see beautiful views of Lassen Peak.
Day 2: Kings Creek Falls
At the beginning of our 2nd of an amazing 2 days in Lassen Volcanic we got out of the car at Summit Lake in hopes of a reflective view on the lake but it was a bit windy. We then headed on to our hike for the day – Kings Creek Falls Trail. This hike is about 2.8 miles and nearly 500 feet of elevation. While this area was impacted a fair amount by the Dixie Fire in 2021, there was already signs of life in the burned areas and it did not lessen what is a beautiful waterfall and hike along the creek.
This was a trail we didn’t know what to expect from and it ended up being a highlight of our time in Lassen!
Following this hike we stopped at a few more overlooks that had been fogged over the previous day before heading to the main visitor center in hopes of an ice cream treat for, you know, the kids 😉 Sadly the main visitor center was a bust, so we took one last chance and found some at the Manzanita Lake Campground store.
This was the end of our overall trip and from here we headed home but had a truly amazing 2 days in Lassen Volcanic!
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