Moderate hike with a view worth the hike. It's 4.2 miles round-trip, but the trail is relatively…read moreflat throughout. You'll be walking through a beautiful, flat meadow then slowly going slightly uphill the rest of the way. I was lucky enough to catch a bear sighting along the way and watched a bear ripping up tree bark to forage for bugs. You can choose to ride a horse on the trail, but it will only get you to a certain point; you'll still need to hike maybe half a mile to reach the final end point: Devils Kitchen. The end has great up-close views of Lassen's steam vents and boiling springs. You'll have to cross over small sections of the sulfur springs, so watch your step! There's still some work being done at Devils Kitchen and I saw park crew members carrying up logs to the trail to build more fences, so respect the park signs and stay on trail. Parking is somewhat difficult near the trailhead since there's no clear parking lot, but there's more parking available if you're willing to walk a bit more.

Decent hike moderate to beginner level 2.1 miles each way, approximately 1.75hr hike. Devils…read morekitchen is at the end of the hike well worth the effort.

Not only was there not much to see as The Flumes do not exist anymore due to the Paradise fire but…read morethis is also a car death trap due to the dangerous roads that have unavoidable pot holes and massive sharp rocks sticking out of the ground which destroyed my engine and several people have lost oil pans travelling down this road, the road leading down needs to be shut down as soon as possible until it gets fixed up to be safe to drive on.

If you're scared of heights, I don't recommend this location. You're basically walking on tracks…read morelaid out on a pipe carrying water. Once you get to the arrow, you have to jump a few feet down the mountain and climb your way down to the water. The hike is about an hour before you reach the location. It's beautiful though. Tadpoles, fishes, and frogs are around the water. It's perfect for the summer because the ice melts and fills the lake up to a good height. Perfect for jumping off the rocks.

The trail to Mill Creek Falls begins right off to the side of the new Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor…read moreCenter in the Southwest parking area. The trail is somewhat easy-moderate, depending how fit you are of course. It has a round trip distance of 4.6 miles with various areas of inclining slopes. The path was not smooth and in many spots there was snow blocking the way (but this was a few weeks ago and it may have melted by now). Hiking poles were very useful here. This trail isn't for those looking for an easy stroll. Keep a close eye on the trail too because it wasn't clearly marked and there are areas were you can get off the main path. With that being said, the hike and the actual falls were beautiful. Along the way there were open areas that offered lovely views of various mountain peaks, as well as areas with towering trees that loomed overhead and offered much leafy shade. There was one part of the trail that brought us to a hillside covered with bushes of yellow wildflowers, which was absolutely beautiful. The Mill Creek Falls itself was stunning. You can walk across a bridge that runs above its cascading waters and also across a second little bridge further up from the first. The bridge gives you a spectacular view of the canyon between the two hills. Be careful though because the wooden bridges do not have railings. It's hard to put into words the beauty and majesty of a natural waterfall. You just have to see it for yourself.

On previous visits to Lassen Volcanic National Park, we've noticed cars parked outside/before the…read moresouth entrance. Little did we know it was a trail! A fellow camper at our campsite informed us with the details. We made a return just for this and conquer Lassen Peak once again. Round trip is a little over 7 miles. We started the trail before 8 in the morning as the 2nd and 3rd hikers on the trail. Along the trail we came across deers and signs (scat) of the presence of bears. Be equipped and prepared! The trail begins with plenty of brush then shady trees at mid. The morning breeze is what kept me going. If you enjoy Lassen Peak or incline hikes in general, give this a try. The experience was unforgettable. Check this off your list.

Awesome hike! Mostly uphill on the way up. Make sure to wear shoes that have good grips on the…read morebottom because there can be slippery parts. The view from up top is amazing. Took my friend and I about 4 hours to get in and out!!

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.

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!

I love how this national park is underrated and the shadow to Yosemite!…read more It's so green, quaint, not crowded, well paved roads and hiking paths and etc here. Highlights were : cave (my baby was surprisingly not scared during the trail in the cave), sulphur, beautiful meadows with snowy topped Lassen Mountain View, lake, and etc. the snowy mountain top helps with the weather being tolerable during the summer season - especially mid-July to end of July or so. I can't wait to return.

We parked near summit lake and started trek to echo lake. We then hit upper twin lower twin feather…read morelake silver lake and back down. I've attached a map to my review. It was 12 miles long loop. Path from summit to lower twin was nice, it was very green and we saw patches of snow. After lower twin we hit a very long path of depressing views of burnt lassen trees-- would not recommend. From silver lake back to summit was all up hill. To be honest, I would recommend starting at Summit and going to little bear and back down, you will get nice views and all lush green scenery and it will be a moderate workout.

I hiked this from Summit Lake to Echo Lake. The first mile is a slog uphill, but then you have a…read morebeautiful crest walk then down hill to the lake. The forest here is gorgeous, and the lake is very pretty. It was also quite warm in August, you could easily swim in it, though I don't know how deep it is. This is a very heavily traveled trail. I must have seen 100 people on it. There was 3 large groups of backpackers (15+ in each group, plus dozens of small groups of day hikers and backpackers). That is the only reason why I mark it down a star, you are traveling with a crowd. If you went further out, it would get sparser and sparser though. A great hike overall.

We decided to backpack in to the lake and spend the night as our first attempt at backpacking. We…read morechose this spot because since it is in the National Forest, not the National Park, it is dog friendly, plus it's not often traveled. The road is a good gravel road. No problems for any type of vehicle. You park on the side of the road in a small turnout. No permit needed. The trailhead is well marked. The trail is all uphill, until a few hundred feet from the lake. It's listed as an easy hike, but I think it should be considered a moderate hike. The uphill hike is already on the edge of being moderate, but if you add in the dozens of downed trees, it definitely makes the hike more difficult. In a 25 lb pack, those things are really irritating. Most you can step over, but there are several you have to climb, and as of yesterday 9/14/13, 3 that have to crawled under. Almost at the lake, you cross South Digger Creek. In September this creek is a few inches high and there are lots of rocks to hop over, but I would imagine in the spring this is quite higher from the snow run off. The lake is small, but very scenic. It was heavy on the weeds and quite green though, so we were not going to swim in it. We decided to hike back to the creek so that we could use the creek water (still filtered) for drinking. We found some decent flat spots on the creek to sleep and were very comfortable. The lake, I later found out is quite full of leaches, so do not swim in it. Hang your food, I found a few piles of bear poo around the lake. You cannot make a campfire, only stove use in the summer. Please don't burn our forest down with illegal campfires. Once you see all the downed trees, you will agree this place is a disaster waiting to happen. This was a great place to try backpacking out and I recommend it for being very fun for dogs. See my pictures of the trip attached on the site.

This is a great hike but be prepared. As of our hike (6/3/2012), the trail is in need of…read moremaintenance. There are numerous logs down across the trail and the trail is quite difficult to pick up in places. In one place, close to the lake, the trail leads right into a swamp area. If possible, have a GPS and a map. It's pretty much all up hill on the way in but the views at the lake are well worth the trip.

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.

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.