Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA

Lassen Volcanic National Park, located in Northeastern California, is one of the least visited national parks among California’s nine national parks, but is every bit as beautiful and interesting as the state’s more popular parks.

Lassen receives about 450,000 visitors annually compared to Yosemite National Park which receives about 4 million. However, we noticed license plates from all over the country, and even this one from Chile!

So if you enjoy getting away from crowds, seeing wildlife, hydrothermal areas, mud pots, soaring mountains and beautiful lakes, this park is for you.

The park was named after Peter Lassen, a Danish immigrant who settled in the area in the early 19th century and helped guide European immigrants traveling from the Oregon Trail to the Sacramento Valley. He was an influential landowner in the area, and used Lassen Peak as a landmark while guiding immigrants to the valley.

All four types of volcanos including shield, composite, cinder cone and plug dome are found in the park. Lassen Peak is one of the largest plug dome volcanoes in the world. Its largest and last eruption occurred on May 22, 1915. Benjamin Franklin Loomis, a local businessman, took multiple photos of the explosion which were widely published and made him quite famous.

In 1926, Loomis and his wife, Estella, purchased 40 acres near Manzanita Lake and built the Louisa Mae Loomis Memorial Museum in memory of their daughter who died at the age of 20.

We stopped in at the museum which is now known simply as the Loomis Museum, it features many of his photographs and other interesting facts about the park. The couple also built a small seismographic station which is now used for educational purposes. The photographs brought attention to the area, leading to its eventual designation as a national park.

There is so much to see and do as you cruise along the 30 mile (48 km) highway that runs through the park, including multiple turnouts, access to trails, picnic areas and scenic views. We stopped at many locations to take walks, have a picnic, take photos and for theTravelsketcher to paint.

Construction on the road that runs through the park began in 1925 and was completed in 1931.

You’ll climb up and up as you wind your way through the park.

If you want to go even higher, take the Lassen Peak Trail, a 5 mile (8 km) trek with an 1,957 feet (596 m) elevation gain.

There have been multiple wildfires in the park, the most recent was the Dixie Fire in 2021 which burned 73,240 acres (29,639 hectares) and is considered the largest wildfire in California’s history. It started on August 5, 2021 and wasn’t fully contained until October 26, 2021. The destruction is still visible today.

If you’re into hiking and backpacking, you’ll find 150 miles (241.4 km) of hiking trails, including 17 miles (27.3 km) of the Pacific Crest Trail. In addition, you can enjoy boating and fishing in the multiple lakes in the park.

There are 20 active volcanos in the Cascade Range beginning in British Columbia, Canada with multiple volcanos including Mount Garibaldi. The range continues through Washington State with Mount Rainier and Mount Saint Helens, through Oregon with Mount Hood, Three Sisters and into northern California with Mount Shasta and Lassen Peak which blew in 1915. I have previously written about the Mt. Saint Helens eruption in May, 1980, which I vividly remember. Click here to read that post.

Lassen was considered sacred land by multiple Native American tribes including the Atsugewi, Maidu, Yana and Yahi long before the immigrants arrived. They spent their summers here fishing, hunting, gathering, raising children and they even buried their dead here. Many of these tribal members still live near the park border.

Accommodations in the park are limited to campgrounds and one hotel, Drakesbad Guest Ranch. Other accommodations can be found in nearby Chester, Mill Creek. You’ll want to have a car to have full access to the park. Rentals are available in Redding which is about a one hour drive from the park. We drove from our home in Portland, which is a six hour drive.

We visited in mid September and spent an entire day here, and still didn’t see all there is to see. We have visited many national parks in our travels, and always enjoy the lesser known ones. They are equally stunning and interesting, but with far fewer crowds. Click here to read my national parks posts.

Nature is ever at work building and pulling down, creating and destroying, keeping everything whirling and flowing… out of one beautiful form into another. John Muir

Have you been to Lassen National Park? Even if you haven’t, I would love to hear from you.

Wishing you grand adventures,

Tricia