LASSEN VOLCANIC NATIONAL PARK

Gerry and I have talked about visiting Lassen for over a decade.  We first heard about Lassen Volcanic NP when we were in Yosemite in 2003, 15 years ago. We befriended a nice couple who had visited dozens of our National Parks, and during our dinner conversation one evening, they told us Lassen was their favorite.  At the time, Gerry and I had never even heard of Lassen.

We left L.A. on Saturday morning, July 28, and drove to the town of Oroville, the county seat of Butte County, CA, way up north, where we spent the night.

Gerry's photo of the blood moon. Amazing!

It was a short 2-hour drive to the park entrance on Sunday morning.

Gerry stands in front of the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center

We were a bit hesitant and almost cancelled our trip because of the Carr fire in Redding, 80 miles to our west.  Sunday was the smokiest day, but we came prepared with our smoke masks.  The rest of our days the air quality was much improved and we did not need to don the masks.

We enjoyed morning hike to Kings Creek Falls.

Kings Creek Falls

Then we veered off on the trail to Sifford lake, an ideal setting for our PB & J sandwiches, followed by a refreshing swim.

Sifford lake and me. 

We had the place to ourselves, so no bathing suits were necessary.

Hi everyone!  I wave to you from the cool refreshing waters of Sifford

Our first hiking day at Lassen tallied 5.8 miles.

We drove to the town of Chester, outside of the park boundaries, where we had reservations at the Best Western Rose Quartz Inn for 4 nights.  This was a very convenient location to the park, with access to restaurants and a grocery store, etc.

We ate dinner Sunday evening at the Locker Room, right next door to the Rose Quartz Inn.  The Locker Room is known for its pizza.  We ordered a large pizza (12 slices - very large indeed) which did not disappoint, and had leftovers for Monday's lunch on the trail.

Monday we drove to the Warner Valley entrance of the park and hiked to Devils Kitchen where hydro-thermal wonder abound! We saw numerous fumaroles and mud pots amidst a riot of odd-colored rocks.

Devils Kitchen

Devils Kitchen was wonderful to see, but we're on a mission to dip into mountain lakes every day.  So we walked a bit farther to Drake lake where we were able to peal off our stinky hiking clothes and plunge into the cool waters, and then gorge on leftover pizza.

Drake lake, all to ourselves

We hiked up to Boiling Springs lake, since we were in the area.  You don't want to swim in Boiling Springs, (the name is accurate), but it is worth the trek to see it in all of its hydro-thermal glory.

Boiling Springs lake

Monday recap:  9.7 miles, w 1,210 ft ascent, plus the bonus of the Drake lake swim.

One of the perks we appreciate at the BW Rose Quartz Inn is the ice cold pitcher of lemonade and plate of cookies they have available in their lobby in the afternoons.  It became our routine to head for the lobby as soon as we returned from our daily hikes!

Tuesday was the longest of our hikes in Lassen Volcanic National Park.  We hiked the Cluster and Twin Lakes loop.  It was an hour drive to the trail head at Summit Lake (through the main park gate).

We hit the trail at 8:45 am, and once again we had it all to ourselves.  I loved this hike, with the multitude of mountain lake swimming opportunities. We passed by a few unnamed lakes as well as Little Bear Lake and Big Bear Lake.  We waited until we reached Silver Lake for our first refreshing swim.

Silver Lake

Beautiful "eye candy" as well with the glorious lake-side pink-colored blossoms!

Not the best photo with Gerry's feet on the left, but who cares?

We hiked to Lower Twin lake where we ate our PB & J sandwiches and took the second dip of the day.

Lower Twin lake - swim stop #2

Another glorious day!  11.5 miles on the trail, walking by many lovely lakes.  Lassen has grown on me.  Grateful to be here.

 Time flies when you are having fun and on vacation.  Before I knew it, it was Wednesday, our last full day in the park.

We got an early start, and were on the Juniper Lake trail at 8:15 am, for another fabulous loop hike, with swimming opportunities.  We circuited Horseshoe lake, but passed on swimming there, and held off to we reached Indian Lake.

Indian Lake -a beautiful lake!  Let's Swim Here!

I'm loving this!   Happy to take a break and take in the scenery.

The remainder of the hike had its shares of gradual ups and downs, but was fairly mellow.  The final 2.5 miles were along the perimeter of Juniper lake, with gorgeous views as we trudged along the coastline.

Juniper Lake

We finished the Juniper lake hike and then drove 5 minutes to the trail head of Crystal lake.  This was only a 1/2 mile hike, but seemed much longer because of the steep grade.  But, it was well worth the climb.  Once again, we had the lake to ourselves.  We were even able to dive off of the rocks into the welcoming lake below.  It was the perfect grand finale for our final full day in Lassen Volcanic National Park!

Crystal lake - the sixth and final swim in Lassen NP

Wednesday recap: 10.6 miles, ascent of 1,260 feet, and swimming in 2 mountain lakes.

Thursday morning we donned our hiking apparel and checked out of the Rose Quartz at 7:30 am.  We drove the Lassen Scenic Byway.  Our first stop was at Kings Creek.  We were determined to find and photograph the leopard lily, which looks similar to the humboldt lily we have in Griffith Park.

Mission accomplished - leopard lilies!

Our major hike of the day (4.3 miles) was the Chaos Jumbles (and dried up) Crags lake, located near Manzanita lake on the NW entrance of the park.  Sadly, no swimming here, but it was still an interesting hike.

Chaos Jumbles hike

We enjoyed Lassen Volcanic National Park!  It surpassed our expectations.  Happy to have hiked 44 miles, skinny-dipped in 6 lakes, and to be disconnected from techno devices during the day.  It's relaxing and rewarding to spend time in nature.

We're grateful for our National Parks.  They are truly our treasures!