Lassen Volcanic National Park

Check the NPS website to make sure that Highway 89 (the main road running through the park) is open. It is usually only open from June to September due to heavy snow pack.

Lassen Volcanic Park is one of these places that you must definitely visit while in North California.

This beautiful park is a proper paradise for volcano enthusiasts, and since both my sons love geology and visiting places of geological interest we decided to visit the Lassen Volcanic Park.

It was end of August and the weather conditions were perfect. What really amazed me was that at a point we reached an altitude of about 8,400 feet which kinda thrilling. The landscapes are varied and they change rapidly, from forest to desert volcanic. The lakes and water holes formed in these mountains are way too impressive and they prove to be the ideal font for anyone wanting to take some amazing photos.

The peculiarity of this place, which i didn't know and i learned from my sons, is that all four types of volcanoes found in the entire world are represented in Lassen Volcanic National Park. Volcanoes found in the park include shield (Prospect Peak), plug dome (Lassen Peak), Cinder Cone (Cinder Cone), and Composite (Brokeoff Volcano) volcanoes. Impressive and unique!!!

If you feel adventurous, then i suggest you to visit Bumpass Hell which is the main volcanic area, but you must be very careful because the trail to it is rather dangerous! Avoid visiting the park during winter, because the snow falls there are really heavy and most of the roads and sight seeings are closed. The best period is early summer or early autumn!!!

Super underrated. Went there with some friends for the 4th of July weekend and I was completely blown away by some of the views. I personally feel it is on par with Yosemite in terms of pure beauty, and it can be experienced with a much smaller crowd than more well known national parks.

When we visited, my friends and I backpacked for an entire day, hiking a beautiful trail from the visitor's center up to the famous Bumpass Hell area. Lassen Peak itself is gorgeous too, but unfortunately we ran out of time before getting to hike it. I actually have plans to return in a few weeks just to finish that hike.

We didn't even visit the eastern side of the park, but there are countless things to do there too.

Wonderful park. The drive there is beautiful, and it is perfect for backpacking.

This National Park is such a hidden gem! We camped at Manzanita Lake in late August 2014 and what a fun trip it was! The weather was perfect and the park is absolutely stunning, there is a lot to see and do even considering this is one of the smaller NP's. The history, the scenery, the trails - Lassen is a geological dream. I definitely recommend visiting the one of the park's most popular sites Bumpass Hell - it's an easy 3 mile loop trail and the hydrothermal pools are quite the spectacle. If you're looking to challenge yourself venture out to Cinder Cone and hike to the top of the volcano, but be warned this hike is not for the faint of heart. However, the views from the top are absolutely worth it! If you are in Northern California, Lassen Volcanic National Park should be one of your stops.

Haven't been in a decade but the last time we went it was super hot and we drove to the top with kids and got out and had a snowball fight on a volcano in 90 degrees. We did the tour in our car and visited the sites. I remember the Sulphur springs which were really cool. The kids loved it. Good memories.

Such a beautiful place. 30 bucks to get in. A bit steep. But, I guess it's worth it. Lots to see. You can easily spend an entire day here. Only one place to eat, at one end, at the camp ground. And a cute store.

We were in Lassen this weekend (mid June 2018) and it was hailing and snowing for one of the days! It was quite beautiful, our third time there. We stayed at Manzanita Lakes campground.

Enjoyed our visit despite the road veing closed still due to snow and downed trees (6/17/2017)! We hiked up the closed road which was extremely peaceful. Still plenty to see and enjoy. Next time we would get the bikes out to cover more ground!

This place is so cool. It's a massively underrated national park

Don't forget to check out the nearby Lava Tubes!