There are six free-entrance days in 2025 for national parks and national monuments in Northern California. Hike your favorite trails, picnic, explore, and enjoy nature with your friends and family. 2025 Free Entrance Days to Northern California National Parks and Monuments Here are the six days in 2025 that you can save your hard-earned money […]
2024 Free Entrance Days at Northern California National Parks and Monuments
There are six free-entrance days in 2024 for national parks and national monuments in Northern California. Hike your favorite trails, picnic, explore, and enjoy nature with your friends and family. 2024 Free Entrance Days to Northern California National Parks and Monuments Here are the six days in 2024 that you can save your hard-earned money […]
2023 Free Entrance Days at Northern California National Parks and Monuments
There are five free-entrance days in 2023 for national parks and national monuments in Northern California. Hike your favorite trails, picnic, explore, and enjoy nature with your friends and family. 2023 Free Entrance Days to Northern California National Parks and Monuments Here are the five days in 2023 that you can save your hard-earned money […]
2022 Free Entrance Days at Northern California National Parks and Monuments
There are six free-entrance days in 2022 for national parks and national monuments in Northern California. Hike your favorite trails, picnic, explore, and enjoy nature with your friends and family. 2022 Free Entrance Days to Northern California National Parks and Monuments Here are the six days in 2022 that you can save your hard-earned money […]
2021 Free Entrance Days at Northern California National Parks and Monuments
There are six free-entrance days in 2021 for national parks and national monuments in Northern California. Hike your favorite trails, picnic, explore, and enjoy nature with your friends and family. 2021 Free Entrance Days to Northern California National Parks and Monuments Here are the six days in 2021 that you can save your hard-earned money […]
Brokeoff Mountain Trail: Better than Lassen Peak!
Need to pick between climbing Brokeoff Mountain or climbing Lassen Peak? Both are great hikes, but here are five reasons why I’d rather hike the Brokeoff Mountain Trail than the Lassen Peak Trail. I Prefer Climbing Brokeoff Mountain Rather than Lassen Peak First off, I love climbing Lassen Peak! There are many reasons why the […]
Exploring Ridge Lakes and Sulphur Works in Lassen Volcanic National Park
Hiking the steep trail to the Ridge Lakes and beyond will win you some of the most spectacular scenery in Lassen Volcanic National Park, and also a surprising amount of solitude. The lakes are only 1.1 miles from the trailhead at the Sulphur Works parking lot, but most people are either attracted to more popular […]
Interested in Lassen Volcanic National Park Geology? New Book Has All the Details…
If you’re like me, when you’re hiking the trails or driving the roads of Lassen Volcanic National Park, you often wonder about the geology of what you see: types of volcanoes, types of lava — and just exactly how did glaciers affect the landscape? Well, we hikers interested in geology — and especially volcanic geology […]
Backpacking Snag Lake, Widow Lake, and Jakey Lake in Lassen Volcanic National Park
Backpacking the trails to Snag Lake, Widow Lake, and Jakey Lake in the Lassen Volcanic Wilderness of Lassen Volcanic National Park is richly rewarding. You’ll visit lakes large and small, along with a variety of volcanic landscapes, and you’ll share the territory with relatively few other backpackers. View of Snag Lake, Fantastic Lava Beds, Cinder […]
Crystal Lake Trail, Lassen Volcanic National Park
The Crystal Lake Trail begins near the Juniper Lake Campground in the eastern reaches of Lassen Volcanic National Park and makes an excellent addition for anyone camping here. The trail rises at a rate of 1,125 feet per mile, which is mighty steep. However, since it’s only 0.4 mile, you’ll gladly accept the challenge to […]
Inspiration Point Trail, Lassen Volcanic National Park
The Inspiration Point Trail is a top attraction for hikers in the Juniper Lake area of Lassen Volcanic National Park. The hike to Inspiration Point certainly gets the heart pumping. But considering that the trail travels a modest 0.7 mile and ends at a relatively low final elevation, Inspiration Point offers surprisingly good views of […]
2019 Free Entrance Days to Northern California National Parks and Monuments
There are five free-entrance days (no fee!) in 2019 for national parks and national monuments in Northern California. Hike your favorite trails, picnic, explore, and enjoy nature with your friends and family. 2019 Free Entrance Days to Northern California National Parks and Monuments Here are the five days in 2019 that you can save your […]
Crags Lake Trail, Lassen Volcanic National Park
Nestled under Lassen Volcanic National Park’s Chaos Crags, Crags Lake is reached by a moderate hiking trail that sees relatively few visitors, but is located near Manzanita Lake Campground. But the hike is worth the effort to enjoy the stark scenery. Chaos Crags Trail to Crags Lake Key Data Distance: 4.0 miles roundtrip Difficulty: Moderate […]
Hiking Manzanita Creek Trail in Lassen Volcanic National Park
The Manzanita Creek Trail in Lassen Volcanic National Park offers hikers meadows, wildflowers, vistas of Lassen Peak, Chaos Crags, and Loomis Peak — and a fair amount of solitude. It’s a great moderate day hike that leaves from the Manzanita Lake Campground. Manzanita Creek Trail: Key Information Length: 6.6 miles round trip Hiking time: 4 […]
Best Hiking Trails in Lassen Volcanic National Park
Lassen Volcanic National Park hosts a wide variety of hiking trails that will appeal to day hikers and backpackers of all levels of ability. Some trails are flat, short, and easy, while others are steep, long, and challenging. But all reward you richly with stunning beauty ranging from flower-filled lush meadows to rugged volcanic landscapes […]
Hike the Lassen Peak Trail over the Labor Day Weekend
The Lassen Peak Trail has been undergoing some major changes this summer, so access to the summit has been restricted to just a few days, although visitors are allowed to hike in 1.3 miles to the Grandview area on any day Lassen Volcanic National Park is open. Hiking the Lassen Peak Trail, Labor Day Weekend […]
Hiking Manzanita Creek Trail in Lassen Volcanic National Park
Stephanie and I just hiked the Manzanita Creek Trail in Lassen Volcanic National Park. Wow! Meadows, flowers, Loomis Peak, Lassen Peak. Here’s a complete description of the Manzanita Creek Trail from one of my hiking guidebooks, along with several photos. It had been many years since I hiked this trail for my two hiking guidebooks […]
Draft Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway Interpretive Plan — Give Your Input
The Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway is a great idea for educating people about the natural and human history of the Cascade Range. It covers a huge chunk of my home territory: it begins at Lake Almanor just south of Lassen Volcanic National Park, continues through the park, passes Lassen National Forest’s Hat Creek Rim and […]
When Can You First Hike in the Mount Shasta and Lassen Park Areas this Spring?
When can you first hike the trails Mount Shasta trails and Lassen Volcanic National Park trails this spring? Answer: it depends. Hiking Trails and Snow Levels I received an e-mail today from a gentleman living in the upper Midwest who is planning on spending two weeks this summer hiking the trails in the Mount Shasta […]
Free Admission to California National Parks on Saturday, September 25, 2010
It’s National Public Lands Day this Saturday, and that means you get a free pass to national parks in California and the rest of the United States. Take advantage, but check the weather forecast and be prepared for all conditions. Here’s a list of national parks in California: Cabrillo National Monument Death Valley National Park […]
No National Parks Admission Fee April 17-25
No fees = free admission to all national parks from Saturday, April 17 through Sunday, April 25. Such a deal! Here’s what the National Park Service says about the no-fee period: America’s Best Idea – the national parks – gets even better this year with several fee-free days at more than 100 national parks that […]
Free Entrance to National Parks on Veterans’ Day this Wednesday
National Parks and most federally managed lands are letting everyone in for free on Wednesday, November 11. Here’s the press release from Lassen Volcanic National Park: To honor America’s service men and women, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that areas managed by the department will not charge entrance fees on Wednesday, November 11, […]
Lassen Peak Trail Closed until at least 2010 Because of Recent Rockfall Death
The recent tragic death from a rockfall/avalanche on the Lassen Peak Trail has led Lassen Volcanic National Park officials to close the last 1.2 miles of the trail to the summit of Lassen Peak. From a Lassen Volcanic National Park press release: The first 1.3 miles of the 2.5 mile Lassen Peak Trail in Lassen […]
Visit Your National Parks for Free This Weekend — August 15-16
I wrote last month about the National Park Service’s free weekend for July. Well, they’re doin’ it again this weekend, August 15-16. Here’s the list of all the national parks in California, Oregon, Arizona, and Nevada. Get out there and hike those national park trails. California Cabrillo National Monument Death Valley National Park John Muir […]
Hiking Chaos Crags Trail in Lassen Volcanic National Park
The Chaos Crags Trail is near the northwest edge of Lassen Volcanic National Park, andleaves from the Manzanita Lake campground. The Chaos Crags Trail takes you to Crags Lake and some of the starkest, steepest topography in Lassen Volcanic National Park. It’s Hike 37 my hiking guidebook 100 Classic Hikes: Northern California, fourth edition. The […]
