Lassen Volcanic National Park
A comfy campout with 2 to 5 mile hikes
Driving to and sleeping at a campground
Ideal for first-timers
Places we've visited and fallen in love with
Trip · 3-day camping trip
For · Friends and new campers
Vibe · Relaxing and chill
Reservations · Yes, reserve a spot at Manzanita Lake Campground
Drive · 4 hours from SF
Ideal dates · June to October
Pets · Welcome at camp, but not on trails
Lassen Volcanic National Park (LVNP) is an under-rated geological gem. It's never as crowded as Yosemite, and every rock in the park is made from volcanoes. You can find all four types -- shield, composite, cinder cone, and plug dome volcanoes -- within the park, as well as "fumaroles," which are cracks in the Earth’s surface that emit steam and volcanic gases. Pretty rad, right?
Official National Park Website
Latest Park Road and Trail Conditions
Main image credit: Patrick Bosiger
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Each campsite comes with a:
Manzanita Lake Campground is decked with restrooms, hot showers, drinking water, a dump station, camp store (that sells ice and firewood), and a laundromat on site. You can reserve a campsite for tents, trailers, and RVs, along with group campsites and rustic camping cabins. Make a reservation ASAP! Campsites do get swooped up between June and September.
Manzanita Lake Campground Map
Nightly Fee: $26
The park is named after Peter Lassen, a Danish-American pioneer, who guided settlers to nearby towns in the 1800's.
The Lassen area used to be a meeting point for four American Indian groups: Atsugewi, Yana, Yahi and Maidu.
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Cute, hamster-sized Pikas live in the highest parts of the park, like Lassen Peak. Keep an ear out for their high-pitched squeaks!
You won't be saving money, but you'll save space and weight with these camp sandals.
Clothes
Sleepover! This is a tent you can stand up in and have plenty of space for air mattresses, doggos, and more.
Shared Gear
A reliable, popular, and relatively affordable dual-burner camping stove that is fairly heavy, but performs well.
Kitchen
It's pricey, but the New York Times' Wirecutter recommended this attachment as a way for wheelchair users to navigate uneven terrain.
Essential Items
Instead of transporting stuff on your lap, use this storage bag to easily store items underneath your wheelchair.
Essential Items
Never dig around your pack to find some hand sanitizer. Instead, hang this one on the outside of your pack.
Personal Stuff
If you're an experienced backpacker, this is the lightest full-size, full-featured, frameless pack made.
Essential Items
Add a little magic to your experience by hanging these twinkling lights around your tent every night.
Shared Gear
Sometimes you just want a camp chair that gets the job done. Nothing glamorous or fancy. Well, this is it.
Shared Gear
The more you backpack the lighter your shelter becomes, and the lighter it is, the more expensive it can be.
Shared Gear
Camp underneath the stars and watch glorious sunrises in Joshua Tree National Park, the second largest national park in California.
