Lassen Volcanic National Park is located in Northern
California, about 250 miles north of San Francisco. Since Lassen, Yosemite,
and Lake Tahoe are all roughly 4-5 hours away from the San Francisco Bay
Area, most people choose to go to Yosemite or Tahoe, leaving Lassen
relatively crowd-free, even in the middle of the summer season. Which is a
pity, because Lassen has as much to offer and it's one of the most
beautiful parks in California.
What I like about Lassen? First, the scenery is a perfect blend of
mountains and forests, of deep blue lakes, lush meadows and waterfalls. But
the main draw of the park are the volcanic features. Mount Lassen last
erupted in 1915 but the area is far from dead. Lassen has a highly active
geothermal area, the largest outside Yellowstone National Park. You can see
mudpots, thermal pools, steaming fumaroles and signs of thermal activity
all around the park - complete with the rotten egg smell from the sulphur
pits :-)
Second, there are a lot of things to do at Lassen. Hiking is of course the
big attraction here; there are trails for every level ranging from very
easy to difficult ones that require overnight stays. Two popular trails are
Bumpass Hell and the hike to the top of the Lassen Peak. The Bumpass Hell
trail (named after an unfortunate gentleman named Bumpass who lost a leg
there) is about 3.5 miles round trip and can be done in 2 hours. Once you
reach the end you get to see what makes Lassen such a great place. There
are some great photo opportunities of the steaming fumaroles and bubbling
streams. This hike is popular, but still it is not crowded. The hike to
Lassen Peak is a little mode difficult (more elevation gain), it's longer
and evidently takes longer to accomplish. Located in the northeast corner
of the park you can also visit a cinder cone. It's rather off the beaten
path but once you get there you'll discover an interesting landcape, worthy
of the trip. You can also fish and boat at Lassen.
Third, for a national
park, Lassen it's not crowded at all. Both times I went to Lassen for the
Fourth of July weekend and both times there were very few visitors.
We passed a few people on the trail, but not many. It was quiet and
peaceful. I went to Yosemite for Memorial Day and it was so crowded one
could barely breathe.
The only drawback to Lassen is that the open season is very short. The main
road through the park is closed during the winter, as are the campgrounds.
I've read that parts of the park are open for cross-country skiing during
the winter months, but I didn't try that yet.