Frommer's National Parks of the American West - Don Laine [257]
INFORMATION
Contact Lassen Volcanic National Park, P.O. Box 100, Mineral, CA 96063-0100 (☎ 530/595-4444; www.nps.gov/lavo). Peak Experiences is a free, handy little newspaper listing activities, hikes, and points of interest. Also useful is Robert and Barbara Decker's Road Guide to Lassen Volcanic National Park (Decker Press, 1997), which gives a tour of the park from a motorist's viewpoint. These and other books, plus maps and videos, are available from the Lassen Loomis Museum Association (☎ 530/595-3399; www.lassenloomis.info).
VISITOR CENTERS
The visitor center is just inside the northwest entrance at the Loomis Museum. The Loomis Museum (open daily late June to late Sept) has interpretive displays, ranger-led walks, and informational leaflets. The museum also shows exhibits and informational videos.
The park headquarters, on Calif. 36 in Mineral, southwest of the park, offers information and publications Monday to Friday (except holidays) year-round. There are additional ranger stations at Summit Lake and in the more isolated reaches of the park at Warner Valley, Juniper Lake, and Butte Lake.
The old Lassen Chalet, just inside the southwest entrance, was demolished in 2004. The plan calls for a bigger and better year-round facility, called the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center, to open at the same spot in fall 2007.
FEES & PERMITS
Entry to the park for up to a week costs $10 per vehicle or $5 per person on foot, motorcycle, horse, or bike. Camping fees range from $10 to $16. Anyone spending the night in the backcountry must obtain a free wilderness permit.
SPECIAL REGULATIONS & WARNINGS
Because of the dangers posed by the park's thermal features (specifically the boiling, acidic water), always remain on trails in active areas and heed warning signs. Fires are allowed in campgrounds only. And remember that warm clothing is needed year-round.
SEASONS & CLIMATE
The park is in one of the colder areas of California, and temperatures at night can drop below freezing at any time. Blanketing the area with an average of 500 inches of snow a year, winter can begin in late October, and the Park Road can be closed until mid-June. Even in summer, you should be prepared for the possibility of rain and snow. In some years, you might even see snowbanks lining the Park Road into July. Winter, however, shows a different and beautiful side of Lassen that more people are starting to appreciate. Since most of the park is over a mile high and the highest point is 10,457 feet, snow accumulates in incredible quantities. Altitude is also a consideration if you intend to stay in the area—the high elevation can affect some medical conditions.
If You Have Only 1 Day
The highlights of Lassen are the volcanoes and their offshoots: boiling springs, fumaroles, mud pots, and so on. You can see many of the most interesting sites in a day, making it possible to visit Lassen as a short detour from I-5 or U.S. 395 on the way to or from Oregon.
Bumpass Hell, a 1.5-mile walk off the Park Road in the southern part of the park, is the largest geothermal site in the park—16 acres of bubbling mud pots cloaked in a stench of rotten egg–smelling sulfur. The colorful name comes from an early Lassen area homesteader guide, K. V. Bumpass, who lost a leg after falling though thin earth into boiling mud during one of his tours. Don't make the same error.
Sulphur Works is another stinky, steamy example of Lassen's residual heat. Two miles from the southwest park entrance, the ground hisses with seething gases escaping from the ground.
Boiling Springs Lake and Devils Kitchen are two of the more remote geothermal sites; they're in the Warner Valley section of the park, usually reached from the Feather River Drive/ Warner Valley Road near the small town of Chester.
Exploring the Park by