Lassen Volcanic National Park
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5 Reviews for Lassen Volcanic National Park
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2 families found this helpful
"WOW! "
This park was EMPTY! In early August! The beauty was incredible - probably our favorite stop of our trip. My daughter had a broken ankle so we weren't able to do the Bumpass Hell Hike, but did many other things. favorites:
- playing in the snow in August, in your shorts and not getting cold. Sledding down the hills on their bottoms and having a blast. Snowball fight! (At Emerald Lake) - we had the place to ourselves the entire time - climb the hill to the left and marvel at the view.
- Boiling Springs Lake - WOW - a lake that you can hear boiling from the rim (you can't get closer) - and it's safe - the lake is turquoise. A stream of spring runoff had dried and left a white river in it's place.
- Drakesbad Guest Ranch - wish we had known about this before and booked some time here - horseback rides, a very hot stream that heats the pool, wildlife and beauty galore.
So, in short, if you want some time away from crowds, with all the beauty of Yosemite, check out Lassen!
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1 family found this helpful
"Lassen is awesome!"
When my kids were about 6 months old, my best friend and I strapped them to our chests and took them hiking in Lassen. We had a blast.! It was June and there was stil l some snow on the ground in a few places but the trails were open. We were horribly unprepared for the cold weather (nothing but shorts and sweatshirts) but once we started walking we warmed up nicely and the kids were nice and toasty wrapped in blankets. We took the Bumpass Hell trail and it was amazing. You climb up the side of the mountain (with amazing views) and over into a sulphur filled world of mudpots, firey rivers, and beautiful otherwordly colors. I can't reccommend this trail enough. I think its about 3 miles roundtrip. There are lots of little lakes in the area near the trail which are very pretty and worth a stop. I hope to go back to Lassen again when my kids are older so they can develop their own Lassen memories. I have been to Yellowstone and yes it is amazing but Lassen is too.
1 family found this helpful
"LOVE IT! Can't wait to take my kids!"
Granted, I haven't been for about 13 years, I took a family vacation with my mom to Lassen Volcanic Park when I was still in High School. It was amazing! I loved the hydrothermal areas and learned so much about volcanic activity. I would say that this trip is what sparked my interest in geology. It's really an amazing sight to be seen. Also, the hiking is so much fun and their are a ton of trails. One thing I would suggest, if you're camping, bring an outdoor screen room- their are a ton of bugs at night and it's hard to play card games without it. :)
1 family found this helpful
"Fun with the Family"
At one of the three park entrances, stop here for the Lassen Park road guide and the current schedule of naturalist-led tours and kids’ story hours. More than sixty points of interest and trails are indicated in the guide and are numbered to correspond to road signs. The park road winds around three sides of the park, past woodlands, meadows, streams, and lakes. Among the spectacular sights is Bumpass Hell near the southwest park entrance, where you walk on boardwalks over hot springs, steam vents, mudpots, and other eerie manifestations of Earth’s hot insides. The Devastated Area Interpretive Trail, one of several that are wheelchair accessible, is a 0.25- mile path through a lush forest of lodgepole pines and aspens, breathtaking in the fall. To get to the beautiful 30-foot cascade of Kings Creek Falls, meander 1.5 miles, one-way, through meadows and forests.
From late June through August, kids ages 7 to 12 can participate in the park’s Junior Ranger and Junior Firefighter programs, which involve completing an activity book and earning a certificate. For kids under 7, ask about Chipmunk Club activity cards and stickers.
The old Southwest Information Station at the southwest entrance is being replaced by the elaborate, big, new Kohn Yah-mah-nee Visitor Facility, to be completed in October 2007. Until then, traffic delays on Highway 89 may be a factor, and it is recommended that you either take that entrance very early in the morning, or use the Manzanita Lake entrance off Highway 44. A temporary visitor’s station is set up in the southwest entrance parking lot; and a full-service visitor’s center operates at Manzanita. Until the construction project is finished, the Southwest Campground and the Mill Creek Falls trailhead will be closed.
The new visitor facility will be a wonderful introduction to the park, with a large gift shop and restaurant, exhibits, films, and interpretive programs.
2 families found this helpful
"Disappointing"
Maybe it was the time of year that we went - memorial day weekend. There was still tons of show on the ground and no trails were open. The views and vistas were really beautiful, and the boiling mud was fun for the kids, but all in all, it's nothing compared to Yellowstone park. Maybe I'm spoiled. Perhaps if we had the opportunity to explore the park a little more I'd find more to appreciate about it. If your child has never been exposed to a volcano, then I think it's worth visiting, but if this is not your first volcano, it's nothing special really.
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