Our next stop is Lassen Volcanic National Park in northern California. This park is known for volcanoes – and they are actually active volcanoes, adding a little bit of excitement to the visit. We hope that none of them decide to erupt while we are there. The park sits at the southern end of the Cascades range and is home to all four different kinds of volcanoes: shield, composite, cinder cone, and plug dome. The last eruption here was in 1917 when Lassen Peak erupted in a series of eruptions that started in 1915 and went on through 1917. There is supposed to be great hiking here, but we are a little bit concerned that the smoke from nearby fires will interfere with our plans.
On the highway from Oregon, we drive through the thick smoke of the Redding/Carr fire to get to the Mount Lassen/Shingletown KOA. We are concerned that it might be smoky at the campground, but it’s clear. And our full hook-up spot is very private and quiet.
Our first stop the next morning in the Lassen Volcanic National Park is the Visitor Center at the Loomis museum to get our passport stamps, watch the movie and to get Elle’s Junior Ranger book. After that we decide to head to the park’s northeast corner and hike the Cinder Cone trail. The last 6 miles of the road to the trailhead is an unpaved VERY bumpy road. We have to crawl along – it takes us a half hour and we pass no other cars along the way. I expect there to be no one there and am a little nervous that we are so far out and alone. But no, there are not only some other cars here with other day-trippers, but there is an actual campground that has a few hardcore campers. Unfortunately, there is also the haze of smoke not too far off in the distance. As usual, we can see it but not smell it. The Cinder Cone Trail is quite dramatic with huge jumbles of black volcanic rock along the trail. The hike leads past the giant black volcanic rocks to the base of the Cinder Cone Volcano, which you can hike up. The trail is not dirt, but black sand – ground down volcanic rock. We remained on the base trail; it would have been fun to hike to the cone but we are concerned about the air quality. Also, it’s hot at noon, we did not have an early start. Elle is particularly put out that her shoes keep filling with the black sand.
Next, we drive the 30-mile scenic Lassen Volcanic National Park Highway. The road has stops to see the giant rocks at the Chaos Crags and Chaos Jumbles and then the Devastated Area that has a short interpretive trail describing the devastation of the 1915-1917 eruption. Then the road continues up the mountain past 8,000 feet and passes by the base of Lassen Peak. We drive through stunning scenery: lush green ground cover, purple flowers and craggy green Dr. Seuss pine trees. You can actually hike up Lassen Peak – a 5-mile hike with 2,000 feet elevation gain. We drive up to the trailhead and look up the mountain at the trail. We would have loved to do this hike, but there is no time this visit. We put it on the list for when we return someday.
We just make it to the Kohm Yah-mah-nee visitor center at the end of the highway before it closes for Elle to get her Junior Ranger badge. Then a quick stop at the Sulphur Works nearby – the gurgling, rumbling, belching mudpots and steam vents, the air thick with rotten egg sulfur smell. Then we backtrack the scenic drive through the park and back to the campground.
