Considering we have been to 50+ National Park Service destinations and 31 National Parks we have yet to do the ones closest to home. This year we are changing that. We started our summer travels with Lassen Volcanic National Park. We drove in at 5pm just in time to make dinner and enjoy a lazy evening in the Manzanita Lake Camp.
On our first full day in Lassen we drove the Lassen Volcanic National Park Highway from the Manzanita Campground to the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center. We made a few short stops along the way but wanted to learn more before we headed out on any hikes. The road had just opened the previous week and the snow was packed high in some spots. The devastation of the Dixie fire last fall was easy to see through out the drive.
We learned a lot at the visitor center, enjoyed the video on Lassen Park, and the kids got their ranger books. Then we ate lunch and headed to Sulfer Works to see the boiling mudpots and for our first hike. What a hike to start on! It was steep with a 1,000 ft elevation change. Everyone was feeling the burn when we reached a snow field with no way to continue. So we stopped at a creek and enjoyed a nice rest before making our way back down to the mudpots.
We stopped at the base of Lassen Peak but did not feel the 5 mile hike so we continued on to Kings Creek Falls. This hike took us past meadows, forests, and up a steep rock stairway next to the falls. It was beautiful and heart wrenching as a large part of the hike was through the burnt forest.
After a long day of hiking we completed the evening with our favorite camping dinner. nothing beats sausages and veggies cooked over the campfire. Our neighbors became fast friends and soon all the kids were telling stories and roasting marshmallows around the fire. Momma may have lost her seat but the giggles were well worth it.
On our second day we stuck close to camp with a hike to the Loomis Museum and around Manzanita Lake. The kids got their badges, found many insects, compared pine ones, saw geese, ducks, and fish. The views were stunning!
Back at camp we enjoyed another delicious dinner, played ball, hung out in the hammocks, and had a great time with our camp neighbors. It was a great time at Lassen and a fabulous was to start our summer travels.
Our 6S Full Life 