When I moved to Northern California, one of the few parks I really wanted to visit was “Lassen Volcanic National Park” because it looked majestic, unique, serene and seemed pack with adventures. My quick trip to this immaculate destination ended up definitely being an adventure.
After looking for a campsite online and not finding a single spot available for my travel dates, I assumed everyone had the same idea, and they had all reserved a campsite months in advance. However, I was dead wrong. The campsites were not full, they were just not opened yet. Campgrounds in and around the park only open at the end of June because, to my surprise, the entire park is still covered with snow at this time of the year, and the road going from the south entrance of the park to the North entrance of the park was completely closed except for the small portion leading up to “Sulphur Works”. They had heavy machinery on the road to clear the snow but they had just started the process and they had barely made a dent.
Not knowing this important fact, I ended up booking a small cabin in Mill Creek, a few miles outside of the park, and I was the only person staying there that weekend.
After talking to the rangers, I quickly realized that hiking to the top of Lassen Peak was out of the question on this trip, but I was lucky enough to still be able to do the other hike I had intended to try when I drove up to this park: The Cinder Cone Hike.
On my way to the trailhead, I stopped in Chester (the only town on this 1h30 drive to the other side of the Park) and bought a pair of overpriced snowshoes because I definitely hadn’t come prepared (I later realized that I had also forgotten to bring rain gear on this trip)
It was actually my first time ever wearing snowshoes and when I climbed the steep ascent to the top of the Cinder Cone, it was a slightly frightening experience.
Once I made it to the top, all these hours of driving and the struggle to hike to the top were rewarded with the most amazing view of the crater, beautiful colors, and a breathtaking view of the lava fields blanketed with snow. I was also happy to find out there was a route on the backside with no little, which made the descent much less challenging than I was expecting.
Even though this trail is somewhat short, walking in snow and volcanic sand made this walk a little strenuous, but It was an absolutely mesmerizing experience and I was so happy that I could check this hike off my bucket list.
As I drove back to my little cabin, I stumbled upon a winery (Indian Peak Winery) where I spent some time chatting with the owner/winemaker and enjoyed some of his fabulous wine. The owner was selling cases of his wine at a discount because he was retiring and he was trying to sell his property I had no Idea they had wineries in the region and it was a pleasant way to end the day.
The day after, a snow storm was expected in the region with up to three feet of accumulated sow on the road…. so I left my cabin in a hurry and never looked back.
I do hope that I get the chance to go back to this magical part of California one day.
Note: All the pictures on this post were taken with my Iphone
