Have you heard of Lassen Volcanic National Park before? A beautiful National Park, located in California, full of volcanic activity and a surreal landscape!
Lassen Volcanic National Park, located in California, is one of America’s less-known National Parks to visit and yet one of my favourite parks to visit! The park is home to lots of incredible hydrothermal sites like Bumpass Hell, with its acres of spectacular bubbling mud pots.
Feeling Adventurous?
If you are feeling more adventurous on your visit, you can challenge yourself, and climb the impressive Lassen Volcano! A climb that I’ve been told, provides excellent views of the park on a clear day.
There is so much to do here in Lassen! It’s definitely a park not to be missed!
Our Road Trip
We visited Lassen Volcanic National Park as part of our amazing 3-week road trip across parts of America, in August 2012. We sadly only had one day in this park because we were visiting on our way back to San Francisco Airport, after spending 3 full days in the incredible Glacier National Park, Montana.
Sadly, on the day we were in the park, a lot of the trails were sadly closed due to forest fires. Therefore, we were very limited in how we could spend our time in the park. Unfortunately because of this, we could only do one of the trails we had planned to do, Bumpass Hell Trail. However, just being able to do the one trials still made it a very memorable day!
I definitely would like to revisit and spend more time, here in Lassen. It is a beautiful National Park to visit!
Bumpass Hell Trail
Even though we were only able to do one trail in the National Park, Bumpass Hell Trail was one very memorable trail. A trail that has left me craving to see more of the park!
The trail is only a short 3-mile return hike. The trail takes you through wildflower fields, mud pots, sulphur vents, and to boiling, bubbling volcanic pools. The scenery was beautiful and very interesting. I hope you have a strong stomach. The area stinks of rotten eggs from all the sulphur gasses!
The trail is well marked out, so you shouldn’t get lost! If you pop into the visitor centre beforehand, they can give you a map and more information about the trail.
Where The Trail Name Came From?
Want to know where the trail name came from? An early pioneer Kendall Vanhook Bumpass was one very unfortunate explorer. In the 1860s, Kendall stumbled upon these hydrothermal features. Sadly, as he discovered them, he stepped into a boiling pool and burnt his leg. Luckily today for us, it is full of boardwalks and barriers to keep us safe!
Extra Reading
To read more on Lassen Volcanic National Park, head over to the National Park main website: https://www.nps.gov/lavo/planyourvisit/index.htm
Reading on some more great National Parks I have visited in California:
Yosemite National Park: https://livingwiththewolf.co.uk/yosemite-national-park/
Death Valley National Park: https://livingwiththewolf.co.uk/death-valley-national-park/
