Things to do & places to visit in Lassen Volcanic National Park, California, United States

Lassen Volcanic National Park cover image

Lassen Volcanic National Park national park in California, United States. Timezone: America/Los_Angeles, current date and time: Friday, May 03, 2024, 11:30.

Top things to do (12)

Top places to visit (25 attractions)

5.0 Cinder Cone (60 reviews)
- Whew! Made it and so worth it!
Hiking Trails

I was very skeptical of this hike as I had already done numerous trails in previous days and thought this one would be very strenuous. The beach scene at bottom is pretty and a nice place for a picnic with plenty of shade and picnic tables. We bought a 50cent educational brochure at beginning of the hike located in a box. Was interesting and had numbers on the trail correlating with historical info. Easy trek until you get to the cinder cone. Once you get to the cone, there is no more shade so wear a hat and sunscreen. The trek up is in sand/small rock and your foot slips a little with every step making the uphill hike more difficult. However, we stopped every 20-30 feet for a break and made it to the top. So worth it. The view at the top is beautiful at all angles. At the top, you can walk all the way around the cone and get different views of the surrounding lakes and mountains. I’m so glad I did it and would do it again. We had tennis shoes but hiking boots would be a plus. See more..
5.0 Crystal Lakes Trail (1 review)
- Beautiful and calm lake far from the most visited parts of the park
Hiking Trails
If you like hikes with less people and beautiful views, Juniper and Crystal Lakes are the right parts of the park to visit. The views are really awesome. The hike is not complicated and the reward at the end is high. Beautiful to see at sunset but be mindful that there are bears in the area. See more..
4.5 Mount Lassen (507 reviews)
- Short visit to Lassen National Park
Mountains • Volcanos

This mountain is a beautifully rewarding hike for the novice. See more..
4.5 Bumpass Hell (319 reviews)
- Scenic, interesting, and smelly
Geologic Formations • Hot Springs & Geysers

A 1.3-mile walk from the main road will bring you to this geothermal area with boiling mud and hissing blowholes. See more..
4.5 Lassen Volcanic National Park Hiking Trails (237 reviews)
- Good stuff here, but tough to visit
Hiking Trails

Lassen Volcanic NP is a national park with four volcanoes, including one that erupted in 1914. The hiking trails go to the hydrothermal features that are similar to those at Yellowstone like bubbling mud pits and sulphur pools. Others traverse a huge cinder cone from an eruption and other volcanic peaks. It’s an interesting and scenic park, and certainly lesser-known than Yellowstone and others. But it’s really hard to visit. The park road is closed half the year due to snow. Other areas are closed due to fire damage. This limits what you can see and where you can go in the Park. The Park itself is a 3 hour drive from Sacramento or Reno, which are themselves not easy to get to. There are five park entrances, only two of which are connected by the park road, meaning that unless you are backpacking, you have to drive many miles on mountain roads to see the whole park. So it will take multiple days to do the main hikes, but unless you are camping, there are no accommodations close by. I was able to see the view of Lassen Peak and some hydrothermal features and hike to Ridge Lake, and would like to return and see more, but I am not from the area, and a multi-day commitment is a lot for a Park whose most famous features are similar to those in other Parks. See more..
4.5 Manzanita Lake (169 reviews)
- Maybe the best view in the park.
Bodies of Water

Lake at the North Entrance to the park. See more..
4.5 Sulphur Works (113 reviews)
- Right by the road
National Parks • Hot Springs & Geysers • Volcanos

The hot springs literally go under the road way. You can't get a site closer to your car than this. But do park and get out of your car (if you are able) and spend some time looking. The bubbling hot pots are amazing and the colors of the springs surprised me. Like a little bit of Yellowstone right here in Lassen. See more..
4.5 Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center (98 reviews)
- Awesome winter sledding
Visitor Centers • National Parks

We came here in early April and were able to hike the one mile to Sulphur Works and check out the geothermal sights - bubbling mud pools, steaming fumeroles, and lots of beautiful alien terrain. Afterwards, we went sledding down the massive hills located right behind the visitor center. Make sure to bring your own sled! See more..
4.5 Kings Creek Falls (53 reviews)
- Great loop with Bench Lake (dry in the summer) and additional Sifford Lake for faster hikers
Waterfalls

A fairly easy 1 mile hike will take you to this sparkling waterfall. See more..
4.5 Devil's Kitchen (34 reviews)
- Amazing geothermal features
Spent < 1 hour Geologic Formations

We hiked this and boiling lake one afternoon. Some up hill so recommend taking plenty of water. The features are well worth the hike. Don’t be surprised by the dirt road. There’s a parking lot at the trailhead. See more..
4.5 Mill Creek Falls (30 reviews)
- July= lots of flowers!
Hiking Trails • Waterfalls

The mill creek falls trail was beyond beautiful the day we hiked it in mid-July. Just splendid! Arrive early if crowds are not your thing. We did, and we had the whole place to our self, by the time we left, the trail was filling up quickly. I lost count at 13 different wild flowers...I think there were even more. See more..
4.5 Fantastic Lava Beds (25 reviews)
- FANTASTIC!!!
Geologic Formations

A thick black sheet of lava covers several square miles. See more..
4.5 Chaos Crags and Jumbles (23 reviews)
- Beautiful View
Scenic Walking Areas

Uphill all the way! So worth the view at the end. Be prepared. Plenty of water and snacks are needed. At least it is all downhill on the way back! See more..
4.5 Juniper Lake (20 reviews)
- Small campground; great hiking trails; very pretty lake
Bodies of Water

Small campground doesn't offer solitude but it's a lot quieter and better spread out than 90% of CA campgrounds. Some spots are right on the lake. Various hikes vary from very easy to pretty tough. Mt Harkness has great views. Road is pretty rough; forget trailers. Pit toilets were in pretty good shape. See more..
4.5 Echo Lake Trail (5 reviews)
- Tranquil Walk through the Woods
Spent 2-3 hours Hiking Trails

We started our hike to Echo Lake from the Summit Lake South campground. This approximately 4 mile round trip out and back trail has much to recommend it. It is an easy hike with only 416 foot of elevation change. The hike is through a peaceful woods of fir and manzanita with views of Lassen Peak. Echo Lake's shady shores are a nice place for a picnic and in warmer weather, a swim. If you are up for an 11 mile hike this is the first leg of the Cluster Lakes loop trail. See more..
4.5 Warner Valley Trailhead (5 reviews)
- Great trails
Hiking Trails

The Warner Valley area of Lassen Volcanic is gorgeous, with a couple of easy hikes that take about half a day to complete, and have a lot of bang for the buck. It’s also a lot quieter than the main area of the park. The road to the Warner Valley trailhead was unpaved for the last 2 miles, but easy enough for our compact car to navigate. There’s no entry kiosk here- just put your money in an envelope and leave it in the box, or display your pass on the windshield if you already have one. At the trailhead, there’s a small parking lot with vault toilets. Only one trail starts from here, but it splits after about half a mile, leading to Drakesbad Ranch or Devil’s Kitchen to the left, and Boiling Springs Lake and Terminal Geyser to the right. We hiked to Devil’s Kitchen and Boiling Springs Lake, both of which were pretty easy hikes and had big pay offs at the end. If you’re visiting Lassen, it’s definitely worth setting aside a half or full day to see the Warner Valley area. See more..
4.5 Lake Helen (2 reviews)
- Clean Water, Best Place in Lassen to take a Dip, but Very Cold Water!
Spent 1-2 hours Bodies of Water

We visited both Lake Manzanita and Lake Helen. While Lake Helen is small, I would rank it over Lake Manzanita to dip your feet in or go for a swim because it was crystal clear. The water was very cold (as I assume most of it is ice melt). The shore area is also rocky, not sandy or dirty, so your feet can dry cleanly and you don’t have to worry about getting sand or dirt everywhere. (Lake Manzanita is not as clean, and was also closed for swimming due to river otter danger.) We headed over after trekking up Lassen Peak, and had a nice picnic next to the water. The water iced our tired feet, and we were able to eat our sandwiches at the same time. There was a woman also stand-up paddle boarding, so I assume those activities are also allowed. We also parked in this area to head to Bumpass Hell trail, which I would recommend because there is a shortcut to the trail, and the Bumpass Hell parking lot gets really full. See more..
4.0 Hiking Devastated Area Interpretive Trail (61 reviews)
- Don't miss this!
Hiking Trails

We almost didn't stop here...but we are so glad we did. Great view of the side of Lassen that exploded back in 1915. There is also a great exhibit here that tells all about that eruption and some people that were up in the area at the time. Really cool. See more..
4.0 Loomis Museum (35 reviews)
- Nice Little Stop!
Speciality Museums • Natural History Museums

It is small museum, but it’s packed with artifacts and photos of the the Lassen Volcano. It is close to several easy trails too. See more..
4.0 Boiling Springs Lake (24 reviews)
- Lake with an unusual color
Spent < 1 hour Bodies of Water

The hike to Boiling Springs Lake is about 2.4 miles round trip, with maybe 300 feet of elevation. It’s only about a mile to get up to the lake, but the trail leads you in a loop around the lake before heading back. Over all it’s a pretty easy trail with good traction. The lake itself is really pretty, with a surprising milky blue color; it’s bubbling gently in some places, and you can definitely smell the sulfur! Much more interesting than Cold Boiling Lake. It’s worth taking the loop around the lake to get better views before heading back. The trail splits off to continue on to Terminal Geyser. Note that you can easily combine this hike with the one to Devil’s Kitchen, since they share the first half mile of trail. Definitely worth the hike, with a bonus spotting of a striped garter snake on the way back. See more..
4.0 Summit Lake (16 reviews)
- The Perfect Spot for a Picnic Lunch
Bodies of Water

Located almost exactly halfway along the main park road, we found the shady picnic tables along the shore of this beautiful alpine lake to be the perfect spot for a picnic lunch whether touring the park from north to south or vice versa. In addition to the picnic area with restrooms near the parking area, there is a trail that loops around lake, a small beach for swimming and two smaller campgrounds, one on each side of the lake. Besides swimming, one may also fish and paddle around the small lake. Although a popular location, we found it to be considerably more peaceful and relaxing than the even more popular and busy Manzanita Lake area. See more..
4.0 Cliff Lake (2 reviews)
- nice hike along 3 different mountain lakes
Bodies of Water
Beautiful lake, perfect for picnicking. See more..
3.5 Cold Boiling Lake (19 reviews)
- Not boiling
Spent < 1 hour Hot Springs & Geysers

This hike starts at the Kings Creek picnic area, but there didn’t seem to be any trail signs for it. Just follow the trail up the hill (don’t take the trail heading left, that goes to King’s Creek Falls trail). It’s about 0.8 miles, mostly flat, to Cold Boiling Lake. The lake itself was a bit disappointing, since there was no bubbling to be seen, except for a small mudpot off to the side. But it was certainly very pretty, with the golden grass and green trees surrounding the lake. From Cold Boiling Lake you can continue on to Bumpass Hell (1.9 miles), Crumbaugh Lake (0.5 miles), or Mill Creek Falls (2.8 miles). See more..
3.5 Snag Lake (6 reviews)
- A worthy target point for an interesting walk
Bodies of Water

A 14-mile backcountry hike will take you all the way around this lake. See more..
3.0 Terminal Geyser (6 reviews)
- Worth a walk/trek
Spent < 1 hour Hot Springs & Geysers

If you are in the area you can do this hike and link it to Devils Kitchen and also Boiling Springs Lake. The hike is moderately difficult/steep See more..