Visiting Lassen Volcanic National Park with kids

This summer we visited Lassen Volcanic National Park, California. We had to postpone our visit several times due to unforeseen circumstances such as the closure for reconstruction of the most popular area and trail (Bumpass Hell), Covid restrictions, and of course, the Dixie Fire in the park in 2021.

Finally, the stars aligned, and we could explore this National Park with its ancient volcanos, fumaroles, meadows, and crystal clear lakes. Lassen Volcanic National Park is one of the oldest National Parks in the U.S. and spreads through over 100,000 acres of land.

Where is Lassen Volcanic National Park?

Lassen National Park is in California, situated 230 miles north of San Fransisco and 130 miles north of Sacramento in the Cascade Mountain Range. 

💡Good to Know

Note that Lassen Volcanic National Park is not only vast but also requires extra time to reach some of its trailheads and areas due to its specific shape. If the Bumpass Trailhead is only 15 minutes from the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center, the Cinder Cone Trailhead is within a 2-hour drive.

Dixie Fire

In the summer of 2021, Lassen Volcanic National Park experienced one of the largest California wildfires that burned almost a million acres – the Dixie Fire.

Fire mostly affected the eastern and south-eastern parts of the park. You can say that only half of the areas of the park were burned, leaving the western part unaffected. You can check the trail conditions on the park’s website to make sure they are open to visitors.

Where to stay

Campgrounds

Lassen Volcanic National Park primarily offers camping as the type of accommodation in the park. There are eight campgrounds throughout the park, with one of them (Manzanita Lake Campground) having cabins; reservations are required in advance.

Drakesbad Guest Ranch

There is, however, one lodge-type ranch – Drakesbad Guest Ranch, that also has cabins and lodge rooms. Unfortunately, the ranch was affected by the Dixie Fire in 2021 and is currently closed until further notice.

Lodging in the nearby towns

Mineral

This time we decided to stay at the nearest to the southwest entrance town called Mineral and booked an entire house just for us through AirBnB. Mineral is located only 15 minutes from the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center and 30 minutes from the Bumpass Hell trailhead.

It’s been a few years since we stayed in an AirBnB and we definitely loved our 2-story house, with two bedrooms and a patio with a fire pit.

Of course, AirBnB is not a hotel chain so you can’t book it with points, but there are still ways to optimize your spending:

1. You can use a travel credit card to book an AirBnB to earn points toward a future stay. For example, you can get 3x with Chase Sapphire Reserve or Citi Premier.
2. Buy a gift card through an app called Slide and get cashback.

Slide is an app where you can buy variable load gift cards at a 3-4% discount (in the form of cashback) for several brands, and AirBnB is one of them! 

Moreover, you’ll get regular credit card points on top of the cashback. 

Lassen Volcanic National Park Map

Entrance Fees

You DO NOT need a reservation to enter the park but you’re required to pay an entrance fee or obtain a pass. You could purchase (online or at the entrance kiosk) the Lassen Volcanic 7-day-pass for $30, Lassen Annual pass for $55, or America the Beautiful interagency pass (for all the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands) for $80.

We purchased America the Beautiful pass early this year and this is the third time that we had used it, so far it paid for itself since the National Parks entry fee is around $30-$35.

Dining

Lassen Cafe & Gift

The Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center has a little cafe called Lassen Cafe & Gift with sandwiches, salads, and drinks.

Manzanita Lake Camper Store

This store is located at the Manzanita Campground and has hot and cold sandwiches, drinks, and snacks.

Drakesbad Guest Ranch

Unfortunately, the ranch was affected by the Dixie Fire in 2021 and is currently closed until further notice.

Lassen Lodge and Restaurant

As mentioned above, the closest town to the southwest park entrance is the little town of Mineral. Luckily not only does it have a Lodge but also a restaurant! Lassen Lodge and Restaurant was indeed a pleasant surprise as they offered various delicious food!

Here is our dinner after the 6-hour hike, and we may have just gone a little overboard with the dessert😅.

Hikes in Lassen Volcanic National Park

💡Good to Know

Almost all the trails in Lassen Volcanic National Park are exposed to the sun and with minimum shade. It may get really hot during the summer, so make sure to bring water, wear sunscreen, and protect your head.

Bumpass Hell

Trailhead: Bumpass Hell parking area
Round-trip Distance: 3 miles
Time: 2.5 hours
Level: Easy
Elevation: 8,200 – 8,400 feet

This trail leads to the largest hydrothermal area in the park. The scenery in this area is out of this world with its fumaroles (steaming vents) and the smell of sulfur 🙊. The contrasting colors of acidic waters, yellow crust, and bubbling mud make this area uniquely attractive to visitors.

💡Good to Know

Danger! Do not attempt to go off trail. The thin crust can break easily, and you can severely burn yourself in the acidic boiling waters.

When you get down to the hydrothermal basin, you continue your walk on a boardwalk so you would not accidentally step on an acidic crust. Interestingly enough, the park has just finished a several-year project of improving and reconstructing the trail and the boardwalk. They have restored the historical part of the trail and made some improvements to the overlooks.

This trail is one of the most popular in the park and is an excellent choice for a hike with kids as it is only 3 miles round trip and goes through a picturesque basin.

Terrace, Shadow and Cliff Lakes

Trailhead: Turnout 9 mi. from SW entrance
Round-Trip Distance: 4 miles
Time: 3 hours
Level: Moderate
Elevation: 8,000 ft

This was the second short-distance trail we chose to do with the little ones. It was a perfect way to see three beautiful clear mountain lakes in one hike.

A surprising discovery is that you can actually swim in these lakes, and the water is not even that freezing. We were totally not prepared for that; hence it did not even occur to us to bring swimwear. The girls played and splashed in the water and were happy with that.

Lassen Peak

Trailhead: Lassen Peak Trailhead
Round-Trip Distance: 5 miles (8 km)
Time: 5 hours; it took us almost 6 hours with rest stops and lunch
Level: Strenuous 
Elevation Start/Gain: 8,500 ft (2591 m) / 1,957 ft (596 m)

Lassen Peak trail goes to the summit of one of the largest plug dome volcanoes in the world. On the way, you could admire breathtaking panoramic views of the park and get a sense of the size of the volcano 😯.

This was somewhat a strenuous hike for us, considering Sophia climbed all the way up herself, and Roman had to carry Zoe the whole time in the carrier. We were not entirely sure if this was the right trail for us this time, but we decided in favor of it anyway. So glad that we got to do it, as this hike ended up being the highlight of our trip!

💡Good to Know

Did you know that this volcano erupted not that long ago, in 1915, eventually leading to the creation of a National Park in the area? Scientists are confident that the volcano will erupt again one day.

An interesting fact is that some parts of the trail have snow all year round and we got to walk on it in July!

As always, we were on a quest to see the wildlife, but we only encountered chipmunks this time.

Sophia was really hoping to meet the pikas; after seeing them last year in Denali National Park (read more about our trip to Alaska here), she fell in love with these cute little high-altitude fur-balls. Maybe it wasn’t cool enough or too early in the day, but we did not see a single one on this hike that day.

It’s always fascinating to see wildflowers in the mountains, especially volcanoes, growing casually among the lava rocks.

Always assume that the high elevation hikes are harder to accomplish and require more stops. Thus, it took us nearly 6 hours out and back to complete this hike.

Junior Ranger Program

Every National Park in the U.S. has a Junior Ranger Program, where kids can get a Junior Ranger Badge by completing an activity book, answering some questions about the park to a Park Ranger, and finally taking an oath. The Junior Ranger Program is a great way to get kids interested in nature and the outdoors. It is also a great way to get the whole family involved in learning about the National Parks.

We have visited a number of National Parks in the past before learning about this program. So Sophia started collecting her badges only last year when we went to Alaska and visited Kenai Fjords National Park and Denali National Park (read more about things we did in Alaska here).

In Lassen Volcanic National Park you can get an activity book at the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center, fill it out and come back to earn your Junior Ranger Badge.

National Parks Passport

Whenever you visit a National Park, you can bring your National Parks Passport book to stamp it with the park’s stamp. There are 423 National Parks in the U.S., so it would definitely take some time to visit them all and collect all the stamps in your book.

You can order the passport online or get it at the visitor center; we got ours while visiting the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C., earlier this year.