Lassen Volcanic National Park — Attraction in Chester

An amazing and beautiful park; overshadowed by loud obnoxious campers and zero enforcement of camping rules.

Stayed in the D loop the last week. Everything was great until Friday when two different groups came into the camp and decided to be up till 1 am making a ton of noise. The group next to us ran lights and a generator ALL night long. It was so obnoxious and inconsiderate. I brought this up with the campground “host” who acted like she could care less and had the audacity to chastise me for bringing a complaint to her attention. Why be a volunteer if you’re going to act miserable and bitter. Apparently, Park rangers only work till 6pm, so there literally is no enforcement of quiet hours (10 pm). We didn’t get any sleep for Fri and Sat as a result.

The park itself is gorgeous; but the Dixie fire in 2021 really devastated a lot of the southern and eastern areas. It’s really unfortunate. Regardless, there are some amazing trails to hike and some really unique plants and wildlife to see. You could spend a couple weeks here and not see everything there is to see. There are SO many lakes derived from snow melt; it’s so cool! We also saw some uncommon birds like a black backed woodpecker and gray jay; which was amazing. I’m not a botanist, but there are some really rare plants that only grow in the park to see too. The majority of people we encountered on trails were friendly too.

Facilities are ok. There are showers, with no time limit at $5 (the code didn’t change while we were there). Really nice to have after a long day of hiking. But dear god, does it smell like mold and could use a serious deep cleaning. I didn’t want to touch any surfaces in there. Bathrooms were the same.

The Manzanita camp store has some basic, overpriced necessities. $5.35 for a pint of beer. Ouch. Staff were a mixed bag. Some were friendly, others acted like they hated their job (same with the southern visitor center).

Overall, I’d say go during the week and/or the off-season of June or late September. Otherwise, be prepared for frustration with noisy, self centered...

Lassen Volcanic National Park April 2025

LOVED the drive up the mountain! So many beautiful sites and vistas. Lots of places to pull over to enjoy them. Saddened to still see the charred remains of the Dixie Fire.

What a lucky surprise to hear from the Ranger at the gate ask me if I wanted to stay for the night! I said I didn’t know that I could - He said just in the parking lot and only to those in fully self contained vehicles. It was $10/night. (In addition to the entrance fee) Cool! I said YES. This IS a mountain and there are limited flat areas to park. Some spots are better than others. Use your leveling blocks and you’ll be fine. The roads and parking lot are cleared, however the snow is approximately 10’-12’ deep. The road is closed at the visitor center. Hiking with skis or snow shoes is recommended.

Stargazing is out of this world - hahaha, Seriously it’s amazing and totally worth staying a really cold night. Brrrr….. Our Class C RV and 2 other camper vans stayed the night. I’m sure there are ranger personnel residences nearby as well. Our 3 vehicles were at least 200yds from each other, providing a lot of privacy and quiet. NOTE: Above 5000’ in elevation, so be careful to watch for signs of altitude sickness if you aren’t acclimated.

There is a Museum, Ranger Station, Stores, and a small cafe and vending machines in the Visitor Center. The Visitor Center restrooms stay open all night for anyone staying overnight.

The very nice quality Jr. Ranger Activities Booklet was fun to do and we earned our badges. Something I learned; There are 4 types of Volcanoes on Earth. Lassen has all 4 types in one park! Sure, I could tell you the 4 types, or you could Google. I suggest you GO to the park to find the answers and maybe even learn something YOU find...

Visiting Lassen in May and while it is beautiful few things you should know. The Southern entrance is in Mineral and the only visitor center open year round. We ended up on the Northern side staying in Shingletown. If in Summer you would be fine but its snowing here now on May 12, 2025. II'm an avid National Park lover so of course I wanted my cancellation stamp 😅. So we drove from Shingletown to Mineral. It's a pretty rough drive lots of bumps and hairpin turns. We got almost to Mineral when the snow started pouring down. I'm not familiar with the area and although we had a 4-wheel drive I was not comfortable continuing in the conditions. Bummed I wouldn't get in the park, do a hike and stamp my book we turned around. In a last ditch effort we went to the Northern entrance about 19 miles from Shingletown. Knowing the loomis museum was closed we wanted to at least see the park. To our surprise there is a store outside of the visitor center. We explored a bit and got our stamp! The loomis museum should open the weekend before memorial day for those traveling before.

Best times to visit this remote park might be June through September. The road through the park is closed in spots during late fall-mid spring. If you can only travel those times I would stay on the Southern end near Mineral. Otherwise Shingletown is pretty limited but very cute. There's a dollar general, a gas station, a pizza place and a gas station. Redding is a great spot to grab groceries on your way in. Keep in mind Loomis museum may be closed but there is a gift shop that is open til 4 to get your stamp!

Safe travels and a beautiful park or what we got...