This past summer was the first time I’ve ever been to Lassen Volcanic National Park. It’s a gem of a national park compared to its nearby neighbor, Yosemite National Park.
Over the Fourth of July holiday, I headed up for four days of car camping fun.
Day One in Lassen Volcanic National Park – Hike Bumpass Hell
We drove up from the Bay Area. A few forgotten items gave us a later start than we had anticipated, so we tackled Bumpass Hell, one of the geothermal spots in Lassen Volcanic National Park, that afternoon after getting into camp.
Day Two in Lassen Volcanic National Park – Hike Clusters Lake Loop
We took off to tackle the Clusters Lake loop and the Cinder Cone, but fell a little short. We still ended clocking about 17 miles for a good bit of cross country travel through Lassen Volcanic National Park.
Day Three in Lassen Volcanic National Park – Hike Kings Creek Falls
On the third day, we opted for a more mellow hike from the Kings Creek Falls trailhead to Kings Creek Falls and looping around to Bench Lake and Sifford Lake.
I also added on Cold Boiling Lake from the Kings Creek Picnic Area, which ended up being underwhelming and slightly disappointing.
For dinner, we made pizza on little round sandwich bread things in foil packets tossed on the fire to get all hot and melty. It was also delicious.
Day Four in Lassen Volcanic National Park – Hike Mt. Lassen
This was our last day. It also happened to be July 4th. We woke up at the buttcrack of dawn to Lassen Volcanic National Park’s namesake, the Mt. Lassen trail by 5am. We caught the sunrise on the way up and froze at the top. It was beautiful.
On our way out, I decided I wanted to squeeze in one last thing: Mill Creek Falls.
One Month Later: We decided to come back to Lassen Volcanic National Park to tackle the Cinder Cone for reals and check that off our list.
