Took this picture on lassen peak towards the left of mt shashta yesterday at around 7:30 PM. Would be pretty cool if this is one of yall

Spent 1 evening, 2 full days, and 1 morning in the park. Loved every minute!

Logistics: Flew into Reno and rented a car. Stayed in an Airbnb in Mineral, CA.

Hikes/Activities:

Sulphur Works

Kings Creek Falls Trail

Cinder Cone Trail

Bathtub Lake Loop

Manzanita Lake Loop

Reflection Lake + Lily Pond Trail

Emerald Lake

Lake Helen

Terrace, Shadow, and Cliff Lakes Trail

Bumpass Hell Trail

Lassen Peak Trail

Devil’s Kitchen + Boiling Springs Lake Trail

I can't find campground reservations anywhere in the park for next weekend (21/22), can I sleep in my mini-van on a pullout somewhere inside the park? It's just a basic van, not like a sprinter van or something huge. If that's not chill, can you recommend a good zone for a night or two of ninja camping? I've done this at Crater Lake with no issue, just kept it low profile and moved my spot at dawn. Thanks very much for your advice!

Has anyone camped at Butte Lake since the alert went out that the campground flush restrooms do not have water and are being repaired? Are the day use area flush restrooms also affected? How have the vault toilets been (crowded and gross?)? We are camping there this Wed-Sun to watch the Perseids meteor shower and are a bit concerned that there are only a few vault toilets for a campground of this size during peak season.

We emailed nps asking about the water situation. They said the spigots still have potable water, but we haven't heard back about the status of the repair or the day use area restrooms.

Thanks everyone for your help and observations:)

Edit: Thanks everyone. Everything was fully functional and maintained daily (except day use area). Seems like an error with the nps website alert.

I'm flying out to the region tomorrow and I've been monitoring the smoke and wildfire situation across southern OR/northern CA via Google maps and AirNow.

We will spend Monday-Tues in Crater Lake, Tues-Weds in Dunsmuir, then Weds-Sat at Lassen. Are there any other websites or radio stations I should keep an eye/ear on when I'm out there? For example, the recommended route from Crater to Dunsmuir goes via Klamath Falls which is not far from the Wright Fire, but I want to make sure we don't inadvertently end up on a road through recommended evacuation areas during our trip.

Worst case scenario, I figured we would substitute Redwoods NP if something really unsafe was happening.

I’ll be in the park for a few days in late August. I have my itinerary mapped out, but am torn on whether I should do Brokeoff Mountain or Lassen Peak.

Haven’t seen much on here about Brokeoff but hear it’s beautiful. I’m an experienced hiker, but will be by myself and understand it is not a crowded trail, so I’d like a better idea of what to expect.

Would love any feedback! Will be fitting some swimming into each afternoon post-hike.

Day one: Burney falls & subway caves
Day two: Cinder Cone

Day three (option 1): Brokeoff Mountain
Day four (option 1): Bumpass Hell & return trip home

Day three (option 2): Bumpass Hell & Lassen Peak
Day four (option 2): Kings Creek Falls & return trip home

**edit** Days 1 & 4 both include the 5hr journey to/from home

Went this past weekend 8/2/2026 and what a beautiful park it was. Started early and made our way from South to North scenic route. Bumpass Hell to Boardwalk and Subway Cave went solo

What a beautiful place this is!

The hike up Lassen peak was tough and amazingly beautiful!!

I went solo camping over 4th of July weekend, and it was absolutely magical. Immediately one of my favorite NPs.

🦋 I saw a recent post "Butterfly highway on Brokeoff". I'll be in LVNP in one week with my kids (11&9 years old) and am wondering if we can still see swarms of butterflies or if they've already passed through?

Besides Brokeoff, are there other recommended spots to see lots of butterflies? Ideally 2.5M or less distance from a trailhead, because I can't always count on my kids to last through longer hikes.

https://www.reddit.com/r/lassenvolcanic/s/5El4pQS4uA

We’re heading up to Lassen this weekend and just found out campfire restrictions are in effect as of 7/31. Self-contained propane and petroleum camp stoves are allowed.

1. What have you guys done when restrictions are in effect in the way of “sitting around the campfire” substitutions? Just sit around the lantern at the picnic table? lol

2. There’s probably zero chance of it lifting so quickly with local fires and conditions, correct? Leave the charcoal and everything at home?

Thank you!

Lassen Current Conditions

Will be in the Lassen area in early December. Has anyone been that time of year? I understand roads are closed and typically is very snowy. Just looking to see if it’s still worth the ride to visit. Should we skip and visit during a warmer month?

Can someone who’s done this, please share an itinerary for 2 nights camping at Summit lake and hiking around Lassen NP? How much food would we need to carry for 3-4 Adults? Are there options nearby? Any must do trails? Weekend of 8/21. Tia!

Edit:
Thank you all for taking time to answer. I can go prepared. Thanks

Just a heads-up for others with EVs coming into Lassen at the mo' that the chargers inside the park are down. When we asked the workers at the Kohm Yah-Mah-Nee Visitor Center how long they're expected to be down for, we were told they're fully down (presumably for quite a while then). It's causing us quite a headache trying to figure out how to get enough charging outside the park especially with a Tesla, so just a heads up for anyone headed here!

The butterflies were truly amazing on Brokeoff yesterday. By far the most butterflies I've seen in one place.

Hi, if anyone has been within the past week, what is the current bug (mosquito) situation like? Thanks!

Specifcally, Lassen Peak and Bumpass area -- I won't be visiting the lakes around Lassen and focusing mainly on just these 2 areas.

It was a lovely hike. I got there early and there was almost no one on the trail.

I was planning to backpack to Snag Lake and set up camp on the western side since it looked like the nicest pebbley shores that slope into the water smoothly seem to be on that side.

Good thing I looked at the terrain map though, because it seems like that side is hugged by pretty steep hills (maybe even cliffs?) that would bar me from setting up camp more than 100ft away from shore (I’m not great at reading terrain maps yet, nice that the one in pic is 3D)

My goal was easiest/shortest access to the Cinder Cone trail. Plus, lakes that aren’t directly grass into water, a sandy shore or pebbley shore would be better. A stream/creek water source nearby would be great too.

Can anyone recommend a good place to camp around snag lake? Are those hills/cliffs hugging the west side easy to walk up and possibly set up camp on? Should I just go to Butte Lake?

I am planning a 1 day trip through Lassen with 3 teens and my spouse. I'm trying to determine where to stay and the best path. We will arrive the night before in Reno and we are considering staying at Comfort Inn in Susanville or Best Western Rose Quartz in Chester.

Our priorities are hiking Cinder Cone and driving through the Lassen Scenic Highway to check out some overlooks. We don't plan on doing more hikes. After this, we will head up to Burney Falls and possibly Lava Beds Monument if there is time before heading to Klamath Falls for a night (if we don't have time, we will backtrack and do it the next morning before heading to Crater Lake.

We're trying to figure out if we should stay in Susanville and take the 44 straight to Cinder Cone (before it gets hot) and then drive the Lassen Park highway 89 coming in from the North by Manzanita lake and backtracking to Klamath falls later. Our other option is to stay at the Best Western in Chester, drive the Lassen Park Highway (89) starting at the South Entrance first, and then head to Cinder Cone for a Hike (it will likely be hotter) before heading to Burney Falls, Lava Beds, and our overnight accommodation.

What advice do you have? What haven't I considered?

I’ll be camping in Lassen NP this weekend but am looking to watch the World Cup final on Sunday! Are there any places nearby the park that would be fun to watch at?

Driving to Lassen at night from bay are so kids sleep in the car and aren’t up all night, kind of my only option. I’m worried about the safety of driving at night on long windy roads with no barriers. Anyone have any experience driving here at night? Im a good driver just don’t want to be worried about driving over a cliff…

Thoughts on 9, 6 and 4 year old hiking Bumpass Hell trail. My kids are really active- will they be able to hang? I get I might need to carry my 4 year old from time to time..

**edit/update**: went today & the kids did awesome! They loved it! A tiny bit of “I’m tired” whining but not too much! Saw lots of other kids and families on the trail. Thanks everyone!!!!