Lassen Volcanic National Park is conveniently located a short two hour drive from the Sacramento airport. After flying in that evening I was collected by my travel companions and we made out way to Lassen National Forest to spend the night.
Camping in National Forest is free, most of the time. Using apps like iOverlander gives you access to reviews and site photos so you can plan on the go.
We woke up snow covered, and a bit surprised but go going early enough and drove to the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center on the south side of the park.
As always recommended, we chatted up a park ranger. Here we were informed that most of the hikes were closed due to the snow and trail conditions. Instead of hiking we spent this day driving though the park and stopping at outlooks along the way.
We would come to refer to Lassen as an “upgraded Yellowstone.” Marked with somewhat similar geothermal features, far less crowds and you could see the large majority of the park within a day.
After weaving though cliffs and rivers the weather dramatically changed to sunny skies as we got lower in elevation and began our drive towards Redwood National Park.
Stopping at small towns throughout Northern California we collected souvenirs and added miles on the Jeep.
We stayed at a beach campsite for $20 this night, cooked burgers for dinner and walked the beach at sunset.
