General Travel Planning |
Is there lodging available inside the park? |
Yes, at the Drakesbad Guest Ranch in the Warner Valley area of the park. See the Lodging Page. |
Is there camping available inside the park? |
Yes, at several locations along the park road and in other locations like the Warner Valley. See the Camping Page. |
Is there food available inside the park? |
Food is available seasonally at a snack bar in the Lassen Peak parking area. |
Is there fuel available inside the park? |
Yes, seasonally, at Manzanita Lake. |
What is the location and hours of the visitor center(s)? |
Two visitor centers will be available. One is at Manzanita Lake, at the Loomis Museum. It is open daily June through September 9:00AM to 5:00PM, and irregularly the rest of the year. A new visitor center is being built at the Southwest Entrance as of Summer 2007. |
What are the visitation seasons in the park? |
Essentially summer only. Deep snow renders the park mostly inaccessible from October to June or later. |
Are the roads open on a year-round basis? |
No. All park roads are closed by snow from approximately October to June. They have been known to open as early as mid-May, and as late as late July, depending on the year's snowfall. |
How much time is needed for a visit? |
One full day allows coverage of the Main Park Road and a short hike or two. Another day allows more hiking, or coverage of another section, such as the Warner Valley area. Up to a week could easily be spent casually here. |
Park Features |
What wildlife can be seen in the park? |
Large mammals include mule deer, black bears, pronghorn, coyotes, bobcats, and mountain lions. Smaller species include marmots, pikas, weasels, chipmunks, squirrels, raccoons, and ringtails. Sagebrush lizards, alligator lizards, rubber boas, garter snakes, and the striped whipsnake are the more common types of reptiles in the park. Western toads and rough skinned newts are two of a few species of amphibians. There are 216 species of birds in the park. They include hummingbirds, hawks, golden and bald eagles, and a few peregrine falcons. |
What plant communities are in the park? |
At elevations below 6,500 feet is the mixed conifer forest. Ponderosa, Jeffrey, and sugar pine, and white fir form the forest, along with manzanita and gooseberry. Common wildflowers include iris, violets, and lupine. Between elevations of 6,500 and 8,000 feet, red fir, western white pine, mountain hemlock, and lodgepole pine dominate the forest. From 8,000 feet to treeline, trees include whitebark pine and mountain hemlock. |
How was the park created? |
The area was first protected as the Lassen Peak Forest Preserve. Lassen Peak and Cinder Cone were later made national monuments in May 1907 by President Theodore Roosevelt. The volcanic activity caused the park's elevation to national park status on August 9, 1916. |
What is the volcanic history of the park? |
About 600,000 years ago, Mount Tehama started to rise as a stratovolcano in the southeastern corner of the park, eventually reaching 11,000 feet. It later collapsed to form a two-mile wide caldera. Lassen Peak rose from Tehama's destroyed north-eastern flank. It erupted from 1914 to 1917, the most recent volcanic eruption in the continental US until the 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens, another Cascades volcano. |
How did Bumpass Hell get its name? |
The bizarre name actually comes from a man named Kendall Vanhook Bumpass. He lead a number of visitors to the thermal areas in the 1860s. He severely burned a leg here, leading to its amputation, hence the name "Bumpass Hell". |
