The Ultimate Guide to Lassen Volcanic National Park

Some tips for visiting Lassen Volcanic National Park:

-Because of its northern location and high elevation, the park is pretty chilly. As you'll see, snow sticks around until July, and it never gets too hot here. Dress and pack accordingly! -When hiking around mudpots and geothermal spots, stick to the trails and boardwalks. Some spots might seem solid, but you could very easily step into boiling mud and burn yourself. -The park stays open in the winter, even though many roads close. Bring chains for your tires, and be prepared to navigate icy and snowy spots. -The park has killer stargazing, thanks to its remote location, clear, clean air, and high elevation. Bring a telescope or binoculars! -If you want to make your trip to Lassen Volcanic into a longer road trip, the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway is incredible. The southern terminus is at Lassen Volcanic National Park, and it winds north past Mount Shasta up to Crater Lake National Park, another natural gem with a volcanic past.

Bumpass Hell is the largest area of hydrothermal activity in the entire park, clocking in at around 16 acres. You'll mostly get awesome views of the Martian landscape, with its steaming pools and unusually-hued mud and dirt, but the area also features one of the world's hottest fumerols, which they affectionately call "Big Boiler", since it's been known to reach temperatures of up to 322 degrees Fahrenheit. While you're hiking here, keep in mind that it was named for a miner who had a claim to the area, and who fell through a thin crust of mud and into one of the pools, severely burning his leg, which had to be amputated-- so stay on the boardwalk!

There's no trail here at Little Hot Springs Valley, but you can view the steam vents, boiling pools, and mudpots from the road-- it's especially cool if you bring along binoculars! Also be on the lookout for Fart Gulch, a chalky colored hillside-- maybe it's a good thing to just view the place from the road, since the hydrogen sulfide gas is said to smell like rotten eggs or... well, you get the idea.

Then there's the Devil's Kitchen. The highlight of this trail, which takes you past lovely lakes, footbridges, and forests, is a boiling cauldron of awesomeness, complete with hissing steam vents, gloppy mudpots and bubbling springs. While there are hot springs around here, definitely don't strip down and go for a soak-- the water is so acidic that it's eaten holes into the bedrock.

This 700-foot-tall Cinder Cone volcano makes for an incredible (but sometimes challenging) hike. Cinder cone volcanoes are made of ash and debris that accumulate around a volcanic vent, so the ground on the trail is softer than normal... plus, since you're hiking up a volcano, the trail is kind of steep. Anyone who makes it to the top is rewarded with views of the whole park and a chance to hike into the crater on the top of the volcano. The whole natural area has a few cinder cones, some in better condition than others, but overall, the whole spot has a weird, alien-landscape feel. Super cool!

One of only two volcanoes to erupt in the US during the 20th century (the other being Mount St. Helens), Lassen Peak is also one of the largest dome volcanoes in the world at an impressive 2,000 feet above the rest of the terrain. Plug dome volcanoes like Lassen form when more viscous lava flows from a volcano, creating a taller, steeper mountain. Lassen Peak’s most powerful recent eruption, in 1915, spread ash as far as 200 miles away! The hike to the top, with its many switchbacks, is only about 5 miles, round trip, and takes between 3-5 hours. But it's worth the trek to say you made it to the top of an active (but dormant!) volcano.

Composite volcanoes, like Lassen Volcanic National Park’s Brokeoff Volcano, are made up of many layers of lava, pumice, and ash. Brokeoff Volcano, also called Mount Tehama, is ancient and eroded but the highest peak, Brokeoff Mountain, boasts an elevation of 9,235 feet, making it perfect for the adventurous hiker. It's a tougher trail, a 7.4 mile round trip with a lot of elevation gain that will take about 6 hours. Pro tip: the trail is usually too snowy to hike any time before mid-July, so plan accordingly.