Visiting Lassen Volcanic National Park and climbing the peak in summer represents a very achievable adventure for families with kids. Here’s a family adventure we took in August 2020 with our then 6 and 9 year olds and several other families. We camped at a campground in Lassen NP to make it easy to get an early start on Mt Lassen to beat the heat and crowds. Remember to bring sun protection, layers, and water and food as the trail is exposed to the elements. Lassen Peak is 10,457 feet, and the trail is 2.5 miles with ~2000 elevation gain to the top in summer. It is very doable for young families.
We helped acclimatize with a hike with the geothermal features at Bumpass Hell (CA’s version of Yellowstone National Park). Highlights of the trip included the snowfield still present at the top of Mt Lassen, sense of accomplishment from climbing the peak, visiting mudpots and steamvents of Bumpass Hell, and car camping with friends near a lake in the park.
The trail is wide and well graded on the initial approach to Lassen. Here’s our 6 year old hiking.
The climb levels out a bit with the last bit of shade before sustained climbing. Bring plenty of sun protection.
The ridge provides great views of the destination and the CA countryside on either side. The rockwork in the trail is hardened to handle many hikers.
Breaks are key on the climb.
Looking back from the summit ridge to nearby lakes. Mt Lassen is the most southern large Cascade volcano in California.
Here’s a view of glaciated Mt. Shasta from Mt Lassen.
Time for a snowball fight at over 10,000 feet in August.
Descending back down to where we started.
Views from our Bumpass Hell day hike when we arrived at Mt Lassen. The sights and smells of mudpots, steamvents, and sulphur reminded us of Yellowstone NP. We hiked on boardwalks most of the way to help protect visitors from the scalding water and to avoid damaging the fragile enviornment.
We are finishing the hike at Bumpass Hell with views of Mt Lassen in the background.
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Fishing next to our camp.
Celebrating a successful adventure by opening Pokemon Cards. The cards provided extra incentive to climb the peak.