For our first full day in the park, we wanted to drive the scenic road from our campground to the visitor center at the other end with hikes and stops in between.

Lassen Peak Hike

Our first stop/hike was up Lassen Peak, which is correctly labeled strenuous. There are areas of snow where some kind of crampons would have been helpful and areas of steep trail climbing up in very windy conditions. The views were fantastic, but we cut it short by about a half mile when conditions got really rough. Our daughter, Lauren, told us to stay safe, so we did! There were young men hiking up then using skis and snowboards to come back down across the glacier. Looked very fun and daring.

We ate lunch in the Lassen Peak parking lot and got some snow shots with Usain.

Lake Helen

There is a beautiful blue alpine lake visible to the south of Lassen Peak called Lake Helen. It still had thin ice along the edges. We stopped in a pullout for photos since the parking lot was closed.

Sulphur Works

Sulphur works, so named because of the sulfur mining that was done in 1865, is near the southern entrance. There are hydrothermal vents and mud pots and a strong smell of sulfur in the air. It’s just a quick stop along the park road with short walks to see the geothermal activity.

Emerald Lake and GPS Monitoring of Magma

On our way back along the park road we stopped to take pictures of Emerald Lake and see the overlook at Bumpass Hell. This trail is currently closed because of snow; it typically opens in mid-July.

We saw one of the park’s modern volcanic monitoring stations at the Bumpass Hell parking lot. The little unit gets GPS signals from satellites so it can constantly measure its position to detect minute changes at the ground surface as magma moves underneath. This is part of the EarthScope Project which involves USGS, NASA, and various universities to keep an eye on the park.

A Different Kind of Sunset View

Tonight we decided to follow the advice of our neighboring campers who come here with friends each summer, and see the sunset reflect on Lassen Peak across the lake. In the Midwest, we always face the sun and watch the colors play on the clouds in the sky. Here, we faced east with the sun to our backs and watched the reflection of the mountain in Manzanita Lake change from orange to pink. The best spot for this is along the lake shore near the park gate entrance where the view is clear of trees to see Lassen Peak. Then we walked back to camp in the near dark with the sound of frogs accompanying our steps.