This is one of my favorite spots around lassen county. Great spots to hike and beautiful lakes. You…read morehave to come check it out, it's a beauty you must see for yourself. I went swimming here during summer and the dogs as well. Very cold water, but what do you expect in higher elevations with wind! So worth the drive and hike.

If your idea of a good time is to stroll through the forest past pretty lake after pretty lake and…read moreto see no other people, head up to the Caribou Wilderness on the eastern edge of Lassen Volcanic National Park near Chester. Hubby and I recently spent an October Saturday there, hiking a seven mile loop from the Hay Meadow trailhead. Reaching the trailhead itself is something of an adventure, requiring a twelve mile drive on forest service roads. Fortunately, most of the route is paved and in decent condition; the last couple of miles are gravel, and if it's rained could be a problem. We crawled down the last bumpy downhill stretch in our sedan to see a large gravel lot with nary a car in it. There is a restroom, but it was locked. Hay Meadow on the southern edge of the wilderness, where the trail starts, is large and picturesque; I imagine that it is gorgeous in mid-summer with the wildflowers. We hiked in a counterclockwise direction, taking the Indian Meadow, Hidden Lakes, Posey-Beauty, and Cone-Hay Meadows trails. There's an early climb of some few hundred feet, but after that nothing taxing. Much of the hike is relatively flat, and the range in elevation is from 6500 to 7000 feet. About 1.5 miles in you start to see what you came for: the lakes. The essence of this hike is the pleasure of woods and lakes. And plenty of lakes there are. In our seven miles, we passed at least 15 lakes, and that doesn't count the small ponds. The largest was Long Lake, about mid-way through the hike, and the most beautiful was Evelyn Lake, set among rocky ledges, on the return trip. The Caribou Wilderness is typically open mid-June to mid-October. There is no entrance fee nor backpacking fee. While there are no campgrounds near Hay Meadow, there are two campgrounds at the Caribou Lake entrance on the east side of the wilderness. Mosquitoes can be bad in June and July, but we didn't see any in October.

A diamond in the rough for Sierra lakes. If you want to get away from tons of people, you'll love…read morethis place. Purchase rental cabin from Bucks Marina or Bucks Lake Shore Lodge. Also, Lake Shore lodge has a full bar and restaurant with outstanding food and drinks. Get the tree smacker for the full effect....LOL Enjoy this lake, it's one of kind. I've been going there since 1967...It's the real deal for a mountain experience!!!!! Cools down at night, so you sleep great....Hank D. Sr.

wonderful place! wonderful staff and wonderful people! Bucks Lake is a must visit if you have not…read morebeen yet what a wonderful secret/ destination spot!

Best part of this trip! Please wear shoes as the rocks and…read moregravel can be slippery. Must take your time getting to this area but worth it. There's a rope section to get up/down to the waterfall. Kids had a blast jumping off the rocks. Water was cold but the kids had too much fun. Plenty of parking Not crowded which is always a plus.

To get there: You can turn from CA-89 onto Johnsville Rd. and it is approximately 4.6 miles to…read moreJamison Mine Rd on the left. The trailhead parking area is 1.3 miles from the turnoff. The trail: From the parking area you'll see the trail and you'll go up to an old mine building and the trail goes to the left. The climb is moderate but partially shaded. If you go to Jamison and Rock Lakes you'll have an elevation gain of about 1100' to 1400' depending if you make it a loop and check out Wades Lake. We ended up exploring different areas and clocked 9.15 miles. This trail is extremely rewarding with a good workout, beautiful views, excellent cool lakes to swim in, and friendly people.

Come here for maps and info on the Bizz Johnson trail. There's not much to see in Susanville so…read moredon't miss this little gem. There is also a farmer's market in the parking lot on Saturday mornings.

Absolutely breathtakingly, beautiful day hike in Graeagle Lakes Basin Area that is not quite 2…read morehours from the Carson City area. Easy directions that has signs that will guide you right to the trailhead with as the other reviewers noted very limited parking but this hike is WELL worth it. With your choice of going to fish at Long Lake or hiking on several different hiking options from the Bear Lakes & Long Lake Loop Trail or take in a more moderate to difficult hike up to Mt. Elwell or Pacific Crest Trail you will not be disappointed by the beautiful nature views plus the four alpine lakes that on this trip in November we weren't brave enough to take a dip in but our Hobey doggy thoroughly enjoyed and we found to be of temperature similar to Lake Tahoe. Big Bear, Little Bear, Cub and Long Lake were exactly what we needed to put us back in touch with the serene vibes of the peacefulness of being outside with nature. Weather, views were stunningly gorgeous, we and our furry companions HIGHLY recommend getting out here to enjoy this easy to moderate hike/loop trail. Enjoy and #moveyourbody !!

I feel like nothing I write will adequately describe the beauty of this place, so I'll let the…read morepictures do the talking for that part. The trailhead is easy to find and off the main road. The road to get to the trailhead is doable in a small car, but take it slow as there are potholes and lots of blind corners. There's a well-maintained bathroom at the start of the trail and good signage. Parking is pretty good, there were plenty of spaces when I went but i could see it getting crowded during the summer months. The trail to long lake is relatively easy, but I wouldn't suggest it for someone with limited mobility. It's also a short hike with almost immediate payoff once you get to long lake, which is BEAUTIFUL. My dog and I elected to keep going past long lake toward the dam, and passed several small pretty lakes and streams on the way there. The trail was a little icy when I went in early December, but nothing too crazy.

Beautiful Lake love to go water skiing on it and enjoying my family would recommend this lake all…read morethe time to enjoy water skiing tubing Sea- dooing all the above too bad they didn't have parasailing, but I think they did at one point and it didn't go off very well

Staying in Chester, the western shore of Lake Almanor was a short adventure on the first night of…read moremy stay in the area. Some of the western shore comprises of private property with no beach access but there is a public beach and campground area a few miles out of town. The effects of the 2021 Dixie Fire are seen along the drive, but there were still some green pines along the shore. The beach itself was rocky but wonderfully windswept and dramatic. Late on a Saturday afternoon it was very quiet-only 2 boaters coming in and no one else using the day use area. The water was very choppy following some afternoon thunderstorms and the skies were very moody. It was a nice way to stretch my legs after a long drive from the Bay Area and hope I get the chance to check out the East shore during my visit.

A lovely little spring that offers nice views, good water temperatures, frequent solitude, and…read morefresh mint growing around the pools. This spring is located right off the road in Eagleville, down a slope. You can find directions online. The fresh mint is really a nice feature. Crush up a few leaves and scrub with them for a refreshing bath after the many long hours you'll have to be on the road to get here. Those many long hours on the road mean you're very likely to be alone with the water.

I'm fully in my hiking/camping era at this point, so we decided to take a short drive and check out…read moreFrazier Falls. And honestly? This is my kind of hike. It's about a mile, easy, and paved, so you're not out there fighting for your life...but still has a high payoff at the end, which is really all I'm asking for these days When we got there, the waterfall was actually flowing, which always feels like a win. And on the way back, we cut through some rocks and were able to see where the waterfall starts, which made it even cooler. If you're nearby in early spring, I highly recommend checking out Frazier Falls. Easy, quick, and worth it...basically the perfect low-effort, high-reward hike.

Our favorite hike in the whole area. It comes to mind every time we visit our relatives in…read moreLoyalton.

For how relatively close we live to Lassen, it's a shame we didn't make it up here sooner! This…read morepark is absolutely beautiful and didn't have nearly the amount of people as we expected. Made for a peaceful trip. There are so many wonderful things to see and do here that I wish we had more time to really explore it all. The Paradise Meadow Trail was a surprisingly wonderful, peaceful trail that had very few people on it and ended with a gorgeous view overlooking a grassy field and the mountains beyond. Very small parking area (5ish spots), so if you wanna do it, take a parking spot when you can! We also hiked the Lassen Peak Trail up to the true summit. Definitely a strenuous hike, but it's worth it at the end when you're looking out over Lassen National Park. But, the gem of Lassen National Park, is Bumpass Hell Trail. Only open for about 4 months of the year, this hike brings you to the park's main hydrothermal area. Both beautiful and awe-inspiring, it's definitely worth the walk. Parking can be tough, so plan ahead. And if you've been to Yellowstone, definitely temper your expectations - it's beautiful but doesn't reach the grandeur of their hydrothermal areas. The only thing on our list we did not get to visit was Manzanita Lake. Wish we could've made it there, but we traded our time for the lake to summit Lassen Peak. So it'll definitely be a must-stop on our return trip. Overall, Lassen was such an incredible time. You can do it in one day if that's all you have, but if you can manage at least 2 days, you'll get to experience more of what the park has to offer. Highly recommend!

Only visited Lassen for a short afternoon hike at Manzanita Lake, but what a beautiful park it is…read more Since it's a National Park there was a $30 entrance fee, no one was at the booth when we arrived, but they had signage on how to pay online, and told you where you could find wifi to do so. We did the Manzanita Lake loop, which was about two miles. The trail was easy but took a long time because we kept stopping to take pictures of the beautiful views. We did the trail clockwise and it took a little while to get to the ultimate view, but I was glad it wasn't immediate so that we had something to really look forward to while on the trail. We parked at the Loomis Museum lot where there was a bathroom and small visitor center/gift shop. Parking was pretty full when we arrived, but emptied out quite a bit when we were leaving. They had kayak rentals on the lake, we had originally planned to do it, but time didn't permit on this trip. Rangers at the visitor center/shop were very knowledgeable, I heard one giving information about the plethora of trials and areas of the park, and wow are there a lot of trials!