Lassen Volcanic National Park

Will Lassen erupt again? Yes! Although currently dormant, Lassen is considered an active volcano. You can see the bubbling hydrothermal vent, smell the sulfur, and hear the activity as you walk through the Sulphur Works area of the park.

We came during the last week of June and the main road through the park was still covered in snow in some places and one of the most popular trails, Bumpass Hell was still closed.

Because the main road was not fully passable, we divided the park in ½ and spent a few days on the south side which was only 15 minutes from our camping spot at The Village at Highlands Ranch. And we spent one full day driving 1.5 hours to the northern entrance to the park.

From the southern entrance we were able to drive up the main road which ended at the trailhead for Bumpass Hell. There are many amazing view points along the way and a stop at Sulphur Works is a must!

The 2 visitor centers also contain a lot of information and history on the volcano which last erupted between 1914 and 1917.

From the northern entrance we were able to drive as far as Devastated Area. At this stop there is a short .3 mile loop trail with interpretative information about the geology of the volcanic rocks.

From there we drove down the mountain to Manzanita Lake and walked the 1.9 mile loop trail. This is a beautiful trail, very kid friendly, with amazing views. If you don’t have time for the full walk, there is a spot near the visitors center where you can walk a short ways to see the volcano and the lake.

On our way back from the northern entrance we stopped at the Subway Caves Lava Tubes. This is a super fast, fun and kid friendly stop.

On a separate day we headed back into the south entrance of the park and hiked the Mill Creek Falls Trail. This was a fabulous adventure. The hike says it is 3.4 miles out and back with about 767 foot of elevation gain but we logged closer to 4 miles total.

The trailhead for this hike is directly next to the visitor center. The trail has quite a few elevation changes as you traverse through the wildflowers and burned out trees. This constant up and down was nice because it wasn’t all elevation all at once.

At about the 1 mile mark up on the left-hand side of the trail we saw a cinnamon black bear, sitting in the shadows at the base of a tree about 40 yards up off the trail. He seemed very intent eating his lunch and we were thankful it wasn’t us.

At the very beginning of the trail, there is a creek crossing with a bridge and just after the 1 mile mark, there is another creek crossing with rocks.  The trail itself is narrow and very dusty. We brought our trekking poles and wore our good hiking shoes.

The waterfall itself is very impressive. As a result of the convergence of two different streams meeting and creates a box canyon effect.  When we came in late, June the rivers were flowing especially hard because of the snow melt. This is definitely a moderate to challenging hike, but totally worth it.