We were on a National Park Expedition in 2018 and planned/unplanned trips covered most of the national parks in California. Lassen was another suddenly planned group trip over a weekend with neighboring friends. We booked a huge 5 bedroom individual house inside woods. The journey started on Friday noon finding our way through I-5N. We escaped the bay area traffic and hit the I-5N by 4pm. The route was very clear and was a pleasant smooth drive during fall.
Located in the Cascade range of Northern California Lassen Volcanic National Park is a home for numerous volcanos, Hydrothermal areas like Bumpass Hell and sulphur works. The remarkable feature at Lassen includes roaring fumaroles - thumping mudpots, boiling pools and steaming ground. This is the only National Park in United States with. Volcano that erupted in 20th century.
Bumpass Hell is the largest hydrothermal area in the park with plopping mudpots, sulphur fumes and it's like a big boiler. The reconstruction project was going on since 2018 but the area was opened for visitors back in 2019 and we finally a grabbed a chance to visit this place in 2021 during Pandemic when the restrictions were loosened a bit and we were fully vaccinated. It's a mini Yellowstone. The hike is 3 miles round trip and suggested to carry water as there are no water fountains on the trail. Hats and sunscreen are must haves.
The boiling pools and sulphur pods are clearly visible on the sidewalks enroute the Kohm Yah-mah-nee visitor center. But the sulphur fumes can hardly make you stand around the area. It's interesting though to see variety of natural resources under one roof. Being far in the northern California, one can site the snow caped mountains even till fall! On the other hand besides the boiling mudpots, there is a crystal clear Emerald Lake and many more scenic spots.
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| Sulphur boiling mudponds |
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| Emerald Lake |
Apart from the snow caped peaks, scenic sites, thermal geysers, serene and tranquil lakes animals like Black Bear, Mountain Lion, Pika and red fox can be sighted at higher altitudes.
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| Manzanita Lake |
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| Mt. Lassen from Manzanita Lake |
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| Mt. Lassen |
It's a comparatively small national park as against Yosemite or Kings Canyon and Sequoia. But two days visit is a good plan to cover this national park.
There are various lodging, AitBnB options and campsites available in Lassen Volcanic National Park. The park website os accessible under the link: https://www.nps.gov/lavo/index.htm. Kohm Yah-mah-nee visitor center offers a 30 min informative documentary about the park and the history behind the park formation and the natural wonders. Informative exhibits are also available inside the visitor center.
The park also offers a Junior Ranger badge program.
