Lassen Volcanic National Park
Out here on the east coast I don't often here people talking about Lassen Volcanic National Park. Instead, people always talk about Yellowstone or Yosemite, not to mention our own east coast national parks, Acadia and Shenandoah (close enough!). Boy, were we in for a treat with Lassen!
Even in July some of the trails were still snowy and, simply put, we just didn't have the gear to hike in the snow. With limited trails to access on our limited time (we had only one day in the park), we decided to do the Cinder Cone hike in the Butte Lake area. The NPS marks this hike as "Strenuous," but to be honest the only strenuous part about the hike, relatively speaking, was going up the cinder cone.
As you can see from this distance, it's pretty steep. Then add in loose cinder and scoria "pebbles," which makes you feel like you're taking two steps back for every step forward. Be prepared to slow down once you get to this part. The total elevation gain over the whole hike is 846 ft and most of it is definitely the hike up the cinder cone!
The trail loops around the cinder cone, but I didn't think the increase in grade was that gradual--this was definitely the toughest part of the whole hike. Many rest breaks! I was impressed to see kids conquering the hike, albeit with much encouragement from their parents.
This view was taken on the hiking trail going up the cinder cone--probably during one of my many rest breaks. The sky and cloud cover was stunning, not to mention it was so amazing to see Lassen Peak from our location.
Once at the top you can see the crater within the cinder cone. You're able to hike down into it, but I didn't feel like hiking back up it (what goes down must come up!). Either way, you still get some amazing views. It is incredibly windy at the top, so a windbreaker is highly recommended.
You also get a stellar view of the Painted Dunes, pictured above. These dunes look painted due to the oxidation of the ash that fell on hot lava flows. The colors are definitely richer in person.
I thoroughly enjoyed this hike, in part because of the great views, but also because it was such a unique hike for us. There is nothing like this on the east coast. If you only have a limited amount of time in this park, this is absolutely a hike I would recommend. You get to hike along old lava flows, through a regrown evergreen forest, up a cinder cone, and are rewarded with beautiful views of Lassen. A+ hike.
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