I've long had a fascination with and interest in our National Parks. I have visited many of them and I thought I heard of all of them. That was until I read a story on the least-visited national parks and the story mentioned Lassen. I did a couple web searches and couldn't believe what I found. This appeared to be the perfect park for me... few people, incredible variety in landscape, high altitude, volcanoes, geo-thermal areas, wildflower filled meadows, large forests, and incredible night skies. How could I not have heard about this park? It turned out to be all of that and more. I would put this park high on my list of favorites - right up there with Yosemite and Rocky Mountain National Park.

Lassen At Night

This is one of the darkest nighttime places I have ever been. Nothing prepares you for the night sky in a dark place like Lassen. If you think you have seen a sky full of stars… guess again. It is overwhelming when you see it. And with all those other worlds… how could there not be life somewhere else?

I was also fortunate to capture a shooting star with the image at right. Speaking of fortunate… the next morning we happened to be in the same area and saw a very large crevasse… that we didn’t see the night before. A good reminder to be extra careful at night!

Lassen Gallery

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The Cinder Cone

Lassen Volcanic NP is the only place in the United States where all five types of volcanoes exist. One of those is called a cinder cone and it is formed when the erupting volcano spews rock that immediately shatters into millions of tiny pieces. And do you know what is really difficult? Hiking up a couple hundred feet made up of millions of small pieces of stone and cinder. It took forever, killed our legs, and filled our shoes. But the view from the top was otherworldly.

Hell On Earth

There is a section of geothermal activity in Lassen Volcanic NP called Bumpass Hell. And it looks… and smells… like hell on earth! We could smell the area long before we could see it. But once we got there, the urge to explore overtook the noxious air we were breathing. It truly was something to witness and it really gives you the feeling that the earth is alive and still forming.