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Lassen Volcanic National Park
A group of folks I ride motorcycles with suggested a weekend camping trip to Lassen Volcanic National Park.
The park is about 5.5 hours North East of home. We drove :lol3
Our first real stop of the trip was in the town of Winters. It's just off of I-5 and aside from gas, not much happens here.
That's not entirely true as it's mostly agriculture. The town was named after Theodore Winters who donated a good portion of the land that would become the town. We took a scenic drive through the orchards and downtown area. It's a typical small town.
Another stop along the way for gas before we headed East toward the park. What's amazing to me is how concentrated the population is and how few folks live in the more rural towns we drove through. We are about 5 miles off I-5 near Red Bluff when I took this picture from the road. We're about 30 miles or so from the park.
Mt. Lassen is the southern most active volcano in the Cascade Range and was most recently active during the period from 1914 to about 1917 with the biggest eruption occurring on May 22, 1915. It spread ash and debris for over 200 miles and was the largest eruption prior to Mt. St Helens' in 1980. There are 30 or so volcanic domes in the park. Lassen, Shasta and other volcanoes North make up part of what's known as the Ring of Fire.
I'm not sure why but few people visit the park (relative to other National Parks). It's a fascinating place not just for the volcano that is the main attraction.
We made it just in time to set up camp before dark dark. For those of you lucky to know rural living, there's nothing like dark skies for star gazing...not so much for seeing anything else--like where you're going or where you're putting the tent :lol3
Lassen ranges in elevation with about 8,500' being the high point on the road. Fall comes early and the park service starts maintenance that would be too dangerous during the spring and summer months. In the early morning, you can see some of the smoke from maintenance fires. These are small controlled burns designed to clear the forest of debris.
It's hard to see the park without hiking. So off to Bumpass Hell we went--you can have a lot of fun with that name :lol3
Bumpass Hell is a series of volcanic features called hot springs and fumaroles and is just a couple of up and down miles from the road. Here we look down at the volcanic features before descending into Hell--there's a story of a prospector looking for gold. He fell through the crust and quite literally burned the flesh off his leg. Hence the name.
Small mud pot.
Some of the clear water in Bumpass Hell.
View from the trail on the way back to the truck.
Lake Helen is just across the road from the Bumpass Hell trail head. It was named for Helen Tanner Brodt who was the first woman to both see the lake and to climb Lassen Peak in 1864.
The trail to Lassen Peak is undergoing repair and closed about a mile up. Still some views but not interesting. We skipped the trip.
We saw little in the way of wildlife. A couple of deer and chipmunks but that's pretty much it. On ouf afternoon walk around Manzanita Lake, we saw this guy.
I like the light that comes through parts of the trail around the lake.
As photographers, we often miss the little stuff for the big stuff.
A panorama of the lake.
Small waterfall on one of the creeks that feeds the lake.
After getting back from the lake, it was time for dinner. On this evening's menu, pan seared pork chops, Italian sausage and mixed veg. An Asian salad and Vodka sauce pasta rounded things out nicely.
After dinner, we built a fire and promptly made s'mores for dessert. We found some fire pit color packets at the small convenience store. That made for a spectacular color show.
All too soon, it was time to pack up and leave. As the park has only one road that transects it and because we hadn't been that way, we took the longer route back to I-5. I'd refer to this as the Hwy 36 entrance. Along the route are spectacular vistas, more volcanic features and a few creeks.
All packed and ready to head out.
We saw a better example of a mud pot (bubbling).
A steam vent.
And a tiny peek at a creek bed from high above.
The season is short at Lassen Volcanic National Park and it's kind of cool that wildflowers are still in bloom this late in the season (the park is generally open from mid-June to mid-October for services. First snow closes the campground at Manzanita Lake).
Thanks for coming along on this short but very relaxing journey!
The park is about 5.5 hours North East of home. We drove :lol3
Our first real stop of the trip was in the town of Winters. It's just off of I-5 and aside from gas, not much happens here.
That's not entirely true as it's mostly agriculture. The town was named after Theodore Winters who donated a good portion of the land that would become the town. We took a scenic drive through the orchards and downtown area. It's a typical small town.
Another stop along the way for gas before we headed East toward the park. What's amazing to me is how concentrated the population is and how few folks live in the more rural towns we drove through. We are about 5 miles off I-5 near Red Bluff when I took this picture from the road. We're about 30 miles or so from the park.
Mt. Lassen is the southern most active volcano in the Cascade Range and was most recently active during the period from 1914 to about 1917 with the biggest eruption occurring on May 22, 1915. It spread ash and debris for over 200 miles and was the largest eruption prior to Mt. St Helens' in 1980. There are 30 or so volcanic domes in the park. Lassen, Shasta and other volcanoes North make up part of what's known as the Ring of Fire.
I'm not sure why but few people visit the park (relative to other National Parks). It's a fascinating place not just for the volcano that is the main attraction.
We made it just in time to set up camp before dark dark. For those of you lucky to know rural living, there's nothing like dark skies for star gazing...not so much for seeing anything else--like where you're going or where you're putting the tent :lol3
Lassen ranges in elevation with about 8,500' being the high point on the road. Fall comes early and the park service starts maintenance that would be too dangerous during the spring and summer months. In the early morning, you can see some of the smoke from maintenance fires. These are small controlled burns designed to clear the forest of debris.
It's hard to see the park without hiking. So off to Bumpass Hell we went--you can have a lot of fun with that name :lol3
Bumpass Hell is a series of volcanic features called hot springs and fumaroles and is just a couple of up and down miles from the road. Here we look down at the volcanic features before descending into Hell--there's a story of a prospector looking for gold. He fell through the crust and quite literally burned the flesh off his leg. Hence the name.
Small mud pot.
Some of the clear water in Bumpass Hell.
View from the trail on the way back to the truck.
Lake Helen is just across the road from the Bumpass Hell trail head. It was named for Helen Tanner Brodt who was the first woman to both see the lake and to climb Lassen Peak in 1864.
The trail to Lassen Peak is undergoing repair and closed about a mile up. Still some views but not interesting. We skipped the trip.
We saw little in the way of wildlife. A couple of deer and chipmunks but that's pretty much it. On ouf afternoon walk around Manzanita Lake, we saw this guy.
I like the light that comes through parts of the trail around the lake.
As photographers, we often miss the little stuff for the big stuff.
A panorama of the lake.
Small waterfall on one of the creeks that feeds the lake.
After getting back from the lake, it was time for dinner. On this evening's menu, pan seared pork chops, Italian sausage and mixed veg. An Asian salad and Vodka sauce pasta rounded things out nicely.
After dinner, we built a fire and promptly made s'mores for dessert. We found some fire pit color packets at the small convenience store. That made for a spectacular color show.
All too soon, it was time to pack up and leave. As the park has only one road that transects it and because we hadn't been that way, we took the longer route back to I-5. I'd refer to this as the Hwy 36 entrance. Along the route are spectacular vistas, more volcanic features and a few creeks.
All packed and ready to head out.
We saw a better example of a mud pot (bubbling).
A steam vent.
And a tiny peek at a creek bed from high above.
The season is short at Lassen Volcanic National Park and it's kind of cool that wildflowers are still in bloom this late in the season (the park is generally open from mid-June to mid-October for services. First snow closes the campground at Manzanita Lake).
Thanks for coming along on this short but very relaxing journey!
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There seems to be less and less garden in this state.
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Is it wrong to say I thought seriously about dirtbiking on some of those trails
Thanks for looking!
There seems to be less and less garden in this state.
That sounds awesome! Excepting the smoke, the skies were clear and the weather beautiful.
A lover of all things photography.
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My Smugmug Gallery
It was a lot of fun. Too bad the only offroad was some chip seal on the road
There seems to be less and less garden in this state.
Thank you for sharing
It's a shame they close the park for such a large part of the year. Things look a little too green for my taste in the summer, but they close it when things start getting interesting.
Photos that don't suck / 365 / Film & Lomography
I don't know if you can use a snow machine or have to ski into the park...I'll look into that because like you, winter is more attractive to me.
Looking Out of the Sanctum by Owls Flight Photography, on Flickr
Cheers.
There seems to be less and less garden in this state.
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Thanks for looking! And yes, you should go for a visit. It's a great park.