Should I cancel my trip to Lassen Volcanic National Park in Mid June?

May 2, 2023 2:40 PM

I thought June 16- 19th would be a good time to take a solo road trip to Lassen Volcanic National Park to avoid crowds and do some hiking. It's a 4 hour drive for me to get there and I don't want to do all that driving and end up not really being able to do much. I don't own snowshoes or chains, nor do I want to.

I've never been to Lassen and I don't know much about the area ,so I didn't realize that this isn't really "summer" there. I don't mind walking in a little snow, but I am not experienced driving in it, and I don't want to hike in a bunch of it. I was also really looking forward to seeing things like Bumpass Hell (I mean, with a name like that how can I NOT??), Manzanita Lake, and hiking the Boiling Springs Lake Trail. I would love to hike Lassen Peak, but I can save that for next time.
I have until June 2nd to cancel my hotel in Mill Creek without a substantial fee.

posted by firemonkey to Travel & Transportation (8 answers total)

they run a Facebook page that's current. As of a few days ago they are saying this: "All established hiking trails are hidden by deep winter snowpack." I adore Lassen but I don't think that's all going to melt in a month and a half, so if you aren't into snowshoeing, I'd push your trip out by some months.
posted by fingersandtoes at 2:59 PM on May 2, 2023

I have not been to Lassen in particular but for other National Parks (including Death Valley in California) I have found it useful to read the Alerts and Conditions posted on the park service website. Here is a link to Lassen's: https://www.nps.gov/lavo/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

For Lassen it seems that they don't clear any snow off trails and just let it melt away naturally (though they do eventually clear roads), so from November to May, all trails are considered "oversnow", and then beginning in June they will periodically update this page with summer trail conditions. I am unsure if you'd be lucky enough for the park service to update that page in the very first two days of June when you need to decide. If not, maybe there is an alternate forum more frequently updated by either the park service or visitors that other answerers here might point you to. On preview, the Facebook page fingersandtoes mentions looks pretty solid for that!

(California really did get a much higher than usual amount of snow this year already, so I do suspect it will take longer for it all to melt. Just browsing the Facebook comments real quick had one person saying "So Bumpass Hell open in August then?" - and that could be very possible, given this TripAdvisor thread from three years ago.)
posted by sigmagalator at 3:12 PM on May 2, 2023

We went to the park in August and Bumpass Hell was still closed due to ice. In fact, there was a rescue while we were there because someone ignored the sign and went around it. The beginning of July is more common for the last of the ice, I hear, but August isn't unheard of at all. I don't know if there's a way to guarantee that that trail, specifically, will be open. The rest of what we visited there was basically fine, though Manzanita Lake still had shelves of snow in shaded areas around it. But honestly we were charmed by the fact that we got to see basically alpine meadows full of spring wildflowers, and we were still able to see other, non-Bumpass geothermal features.

Other people who've visited more often will have better advice than mine; however, I wouldn't try going any earlier than July. I don't live in CA anymore so I'm not that in touch with the weather, but it sounds like it was an unusually wet rainy season so if that means an unusually heavy snow pack, that might mean a later-than-usual melt.

I hope you get to go!
posted by wintersweet at 3:13 PM on May 2, 2023

Here's the road-clearing map, they're only to Manzanita Lake at this point and I'm not sure how quickly they will progress given what a wild winter it's been.

I personally would still go because I am happy in mountain areas and there's plenty of wonderful nature at lower elevations in the Redding-Shasta area. But if it's not worth it to you if you don't do Lassen, I think this is may be a bad year for it, and I would not push it much into September if you can't reschedule for August.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:17 PM on May 2, 2023

Thanks everyone! I did take a look at the NPS site, but because I don't know the area (or, if you can't tell, have much experience in alpine environments) I thought, well that's NOW. Surely by June all that snow will magically disapear...
So very glad I asked! Thanks, hive mind.
posted by firemonkey at 3:41 PM on May 2, 2023

I have camped in Lassen annually since 1998, except in 2021 when some of the park was on fire. We usually camp in August and so we miss the somewhat iffy month of June when which trails are open can vary based on what the winter was like. There is a good chance that the road through the park will be open by your dates, and visiting Manzanita Lake should be fine. Many of the trails at lower elevations will likely be snow-free and there are many lovely hikes. The Bumpass Hell trail is at a higher elevation and will probably not be open in June.

Mr. rekrap is a moderator on the private "I Love Lassen Volcanic National Park" Facebook page. The page is pretty active and most weeks there are at least a few people offering in-person reports of current conditions. If you're on Facebook and ask to join the group you can have anecdotal information in addition to the official channels.

You could also use the hotel in Mill Creek as a base to explore Burney Falls (should be especially beautiful this year and is at a lower elevation), and Subway Cave in addition to whatever is available to do in Lassen.
posted by rekrap at 4:03 PM on May 2, 2023

Seconding Burney Falls. I used to go camping there every year as a kid/young adult with my family, and it's gorgeous. Lake Britton is truly beautiful with so much to explore and last I was there, they had fishing boats/kayaks to rent at reasonable rates. The falls also have multiple trails surrounding it, so you'd be in your prime to explore if you want to do so. I was there briefly last summer, and it was just as gorgeous as ever.

As for Lassen, I actually passed through there last summer on a family trip, and tbh, it wasn't the same as it used to be. Trees were bare and it was just a mess from the 2021 fire. It might be a bit better now, though, but I definitely would anticipate a lottttttt of snow there.

Good luck!
posted by dubious_dude at 6:54 PM on May 2, 2023

I live near LVNP and keep track of the park road opening annually because I like to camp there and drive through regularly in the summer. I have seen the road open as early as mid-May and as late as mid-July. Based on the amount of snow they had this last winter, I am going to say it is more likely to be a mid-July opening and is still likely to be closed through the park on your vacation dates in June. Also, the road to Boiling Springs is the last to be cleared so is likely to be inaccessible on these dates as well even though it is a lower elevation than the road through the center of the park.

Also, Mill Creek is on the south side of the park. Getting to Burney Falls (on the north side) would be a LONG way around if the road through the park is closed. If it was me, I would cancel the Mill Creek reservation. If you want an alternative trip, you could book a place in Shingletown or Viola and visit Manzanita Lake, Burney Falls, and the Subway Caves, which will all be accessible by mid-June. But I wouldn't count on being able to do the Bumpass Hell trail or Lassen Peak.
posted by eleslie at 6:39 AM on May 3, 2023