Frozen Lakes and Swims Under Snow-Capped Volcanoes at Lassen Volcanic National Park
We recently took a day trip where we enjoyed frozen lakes with 80-degree temperatures and swam under snow-capped volcanoes. We went to Lassen Volcanic National Park and are so excited to tell you about it.
We made this trip the first weekend that the entirety of Highway 89 opened for the season – the first weekend of July. This was just luck for us, but it allowed us to drive through the main portion of the park. There is not a large window of time the whole park is open, so we recommend planning ahead. There were still quite a few trails closed when we went due to being covered in snow or past wildfire damage, including the hydrothermal area of the park, but that just means we will probably be returning for more.
The trip started at the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitors Center on the park’s south side. We browsed the merch and grabbed a Christmas ornament as a token of the trip, checked out the nice view from the large glass windows on the backside of the building, and walked through the educational portion of the building, which gave us some information on what was to come.
We began our journey through the park which began with views of Lassen Peak and forests that had been struck by wildfires a few years ago. As we meandered our way up, the snowpack on the sides of the road began to tower beside us. We stop to see the frozen Lake Helen. Due to the high elevation, this lake stays frozen for all but maybe 2 months of the year. Despite it being covered in snow, we could still see the famous bright blue color peaking out in spots.
Our next stop was Summit Lake before heading to stop and take in the sight of Chaos Crags. These are the youngest lava domes in the park. An avalanche from the Chaos Crags is actually what dammed Manzanita Creek, forming Manzanita Lake, which was our next stop.
We parked on the side of the road across from the Loomis Museum, which we wandered through, learning about volcanic activity in the park and seeing the iconic photos of Lassen Peak’s 1914 eruption by Benjamin Loomis. We take a short hike to Lily Pond and around Reflection Lake, which provides us with views of geese, deer, ducks, and mountains. We finally hop on the Manzanita Lake trail and find our spot. This is the star of the show. We find the perfect spot with a mixture of shade and sun, an easy walk into the lake, and a stunning view of the mountains. We strip into our swimwear and make our way into the chilled 61-degree lake. We stay here and soak in this moment for quite some time, before letting the sun move the energy in our bodies around again, making for the perfect ending to a trip.
