4 Days in Lassen National Park
This trip was during June 2021. With the current CA fires raging, I’ve been seeing articles about Lassen National Park on fire and it breaks my heart. It is such a beautiful, underrated park and my first time visiting was only in 2020. I’m sad to see what it will look like after the fires, but I’m glad I got to go this year.
I’m back! This time, I’m back for 4 days.
Long story short, we took it pretty easy on this trip and only did a few trails while we were there.
Trail 1: Cinder Cone.
To get to Cinder Cone, you have to be in the Butte Lake area. If you’re coming from Manzanita Lake (like we were) you actually have to exit the park, get on highway 44, drive for 5-ish miles and then make a turn into a not-very-well-signed road. From that point, you drive another 6 miles to get back into Lassen National Park territory.
We did a little boo-boo. Around 5/6ish miles, we passed a dirt/gravel road and thought that might’ve been the road we were supposed to turn onto. We drove down a bit further on the highway and didn’t see another gravel road so we turned back, assuming the dirt/gravel road was it. WELLLLLL, 5 miles later — with my extreme optimism and blind hope, that dirt/gravel road intersected the gravel road that we were ACTUALLY supposed to be on. Took only 5 miles of bumpy rocky roads and a scratch across my car with a branch. Fun times. My little ol’ sedan has been through some tough times.
Trailhead:
First part of the hike was pretty chill. There is an informational pamphlet you can pick up for 25 cents to learn more about the area. A mile and a half or so later you will reach the base of the cone.
This part would be considered moderate by my old fitness standards, but covid weight has hit me hard and this one took quite a bit out of me. It’s like walking up sand. I was determined to make it up to the top in one go without stopping, but 15 minutes later I turned back and realized I barely made it to the first curve curve of the trail. Each step up sinks me half a step down.
I took pictures as an excuse to take a break.
And, we made it to the top! The view at the top was pretty great though, with Mt.Lassen in the back.
We ate our lunch real quick on the top and then took a walk around.
This is where my 18-135mm came in handy:
There is also a trail to the bottom if you’d so like to work out a little extra. The boys dropped by the bottom but I stayed behind.
My friend made it back and he is happy.
On our way out, we took the alternate way back to the trailhead. I think it extended our hike by about a quarter of a mile or so. It was steep going down, so if you have poor knees — definitely be careful!
Painted dunes from 2 different locations provide 2 very different feels and perspectives! Try to spot the hikers in the second photo.
Trail 2 - Paradise Meadows
Paradise Meadows - I wanted to stop by this trail last time but we were short on time. It’s a pretty short hike, but 90% of it is uphill. It’s pretty gradual though, so you won’t really notice how much uphill you’re doing until you are on your way down.
Parking is VERY limited so arrive early if you want to snag a spot. (Or find some street parking further up or down from the parking lot)
Weather was great! We even found a patch of snow. The creek flowing was such a nice respite.
The end of the trail — pretty anti-climactic. Still pretty nonetheless, and very empty.
We didn’t step on the meadow, by the way. There were logs from end end of the trail extending about 15 feet into the meadow, which is how I got this shot:
We stayed up there for about 20 minutes, snacking, before the wind got too chilly.
View from around the parking lot:
Manzanite Lake Loop.
Seriously such a picturesque loop. The views are great from all around, and it is so peaceful to look at, even with lots of people out fishing. We also visited at night — definitely come by here at night. It is gorgeous!
Speaking of nighttime, do explore the park at night (especially if the weather is not too cold). You may be lucky enough to catch the milky way:
Last trail: Lilypond Interpretive trail
You’ll learn a bunch about pine trees on this trail. Maybe more than you’d ever think you’d learn in your entire life.
Okay. Enough about hiking. Let’s talk about food.
We had a ton of great food. Sure, so we didn’t tire ourselves out as much as we usually do, but we decided to gorge on food anyway. It’s been a long year due to covid, and it’s our first camping trip with at least another friend.
Here is some steak:
Some KBBQ:
And a decent fire for our fake smores (we bought smore flavored pop-tarts at the Lassen General Store)
Hammock time.
Received this hammock back when I subscribed to Cairn boxes (I was subscribed for over a year around 2015-2016, definitely recommend it for anyone who doesn’t have a lot of camping gear yet)
Last Day. Stopped by Sulfur works on the way out.
It’s usually pretty crowded, but we arrived really early this time around.
Quick coffee stop and relaxing at the Visitor Center before heading home. I insisted that we take 10 minutes to chill because the view was pretty amazing.
And that’s that. 4 days in Lassen, done.