Lassen Peak in October

As a part of my national park road trip back in 2015, I was planning to hit all the national parks in Norther California. Unfortunately, I got sick half way through it and had to cut it short just after Yosemite National Park.
​
Lassen Volcanic National Park (LVNP) is a less famous national park, but certainly no less beautiful than the others. What makes this national park unique is the access to volcanic mountains that are easy to get to and stunning lakes surrounding these volcanos. Additionally, the Lassen Peak marks the beginning of the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway stretching from California through Oregon and all the way to Washington. It is a gorgeous road with spellbinding views – a must do for a road tripper!

By the time we could free up a weekend to make the 4 hour drive from the Bay Area to the LVNP, we had entered into October. The weather was cooler and the leaves had changed color. On arrival at the park, we realized that most campgrounds were closed due to the end of the camping season. We then set up camp and decided to find dinner nearby. This was not a great idea, because the nearest town Shingletown (yes, this is actually, what it is called…) was a good 25 miles away. Once we arrived here, the only decent food we could find was pizza at a local bar. It is in places like these that you come face to face with the beauty of rural America. Someone decided to pick up our tab of drinks, because they liked us. This is far from the first time this had happened to us, and we were, as before, surprised and touched by the gesture of strangely familiar people.

After dinner and drinks, we drove back to our campsite and promptly fell asleep. We woke up early, made breakfast and played with our dog around the beautiful area. We then drove to the Lassen Peak trailhead, and hiked to the summit of the mountain. This was not an easy hike, with 2000 feet of elevation gain in 2ish miles. With howling winds in the nearly freezing temps that morning, it was actually quite challenging for a shorter national park hike. After a couple water and snack breaks, we made it to the summit. The last bit of the trail involved some scrambling, but we quickly made it to the top for stunning views of the national park, the forests and Mt. Shasta in the distance.

By the time we returned to the car, it was 11 AM. The sun was up, but the car hadn’t warmed up yet. Our dog was happy to see us back. After a quick clean up and watering the dog, we headed back home to the Bay Area with good memories of our journey to this uniquely beautiful national park.
 
Here’s the downlow:

1. ~4.5 miles round trip
2. ~2000 feet elevation gain
3. Fall/ winter hiking clothes recommendation along with hiking poles. Definitely take gloves with you!
4. Sunglasses were key. They protected us well from the wind and bright morning sun
5. Bandana: we didn’t have this, but it would have been a great idea to protect our faces from the wind
6. Comfortable and grippy hiking boos are a must. The hike was steep and rocky in several areas so good hiking boots with solid soles is key!

​
Overall, this was a great summer/ fall hike. We hope to return to this beautiful place for some ski descents in the future!

Gorgeous mountain lake on the way to our campsite. We stopped by to take in the view

View of Lassen mountain from the parking lot. The peak (not visible) is to the right of the top here.

Thats me at the summit pointing to the Mt. Shasta!

We were the only ones camping in the park. Bit scary but we also had the run of the area!

This is the actual peak. Its quite rocky but not too challenging. A bit of work after the steep hike :)

Gorgeous view of Mt. Shasta from the summit of Lassen Peak!