Lassen Volcanic: the planet's four types of volcano in a single park

Lassen Peak is the southernmost volcano in the Cascade Range, the range of Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainier. It woke up a little over a century ago. Around it, the ground steams, hisses and bubbles. The park is small and little visited, and you cross it on a single road.

History and origins

In May 1914, Lassen Peak began to spew steam and ash. A year later it exploded: the plume rose to 9,000 metres, and a mudflow tore down the valley. The eruptions lasted until 1917. A local photographer took pictures of them that went round the country. The park was created as early as 1916.

Geologists love the place for another reason: all four major types of volcano on the planet are found here, within a few kilometres of each other. Four Native American peoples shared these mountains, coming up every summer.

What to do there

• The park road: 48 km between the south entrance and the north entrance, over a pass at 2,600 metres at the foot of the volcano. Snowdrifts often line it until July.
• Sulphur Works: beside the road, steam vents and a mud pot that slaps and gurgles. You smell the sulphur before you see them.
• Bumpass Hell: the largest thermal area in the park. A trail goes down to it, then boardwalks wind between turquoise pools and jets of steam.
• Lassen Peak: a switchback trail to the summit, at 3,187 metres, with a view over the whole region.
• Manzanita Lake: a calm lake at the north entrance, where the volcano is reflected. The trail around it is flat.
• The Devastated Area: a short trail among the boulders thrown out by the 1915 eruption, with period photos.

Stories and good to know

• Until the eruption of Mount St. Helens, in 1980, Lassen Peak was the last volcano to have erupted in the contiguous United States.
• In 2021, a giant wildfire swept across more than two-thirds of the park. The main sites are intact, but you drive through large burned forests.
• The park is one of the least visited in California.

Practical information for your road trip

• Pass: the America the Beautiful pass covers the entrance fee. Everything is explained in our guide to the national parks pass.
• Getting there: the north entrance is an hour from Redding, the south entrance 1 hr 15 from Red Bluff. Allow 4 hrs from San Francisco.
• Fuel: a single pump in the park, in summer, at Manzanita Lake.
• Where to stay: in the small towns around the park, or camping. The park has a few cabins at Manzanita Lake.
• Combine it with: Redwood, on the coast, or Crater Lake, in Oregon.