For our final day exploring Lassen Volcanic National Park, we decided to drive out of the park via the northwest entrance, and drive the hour to the northeast entrance in order to hike the Cinder Cone, Painted Dunes, and Fantastic Lava Beds.
DAY 3 | Lassen Volcanic National Park
Cinder Cone National Monument
We had planned to wake up in time to summit the Cinder Cone by sunrise, but when the alarm went off at 3:45 AM, neither of us felt motivated to get out of bed. After enjoying a few more hours of sleep and a good breakfast, we headed to the Cinder Cone Nature Trailhead at the western tip of Butte Lake, and arrived around 10 AM.
The first section of the hike to the Cinder Cone followed a nature trail, guided by a $0.50 pamphlet from 1999. It was a slow, steady incline hike on a wide trail composed of grey cinders, which felt similar to sand. This trail overlapped with the Nobles Emigrant Trail and the California National Historical Trail, and information on both was included in the pamphlet.
About 1.5 miles into the hike, the Cinder Cone finally came into view, and we were both stunned. The cone is about 750 feet tall from the base, and has a ~30 degree slope – it looked steep! I don’t think it would be possible for the cinder cone to be much steeper and still maintain it’s conical shape. We approached the base before finding a good sittin’ log in the shade to mentally prepare ourselves.
We began the ascent in the loose cinders. Pretty much every step we took resulted in a slide backwards. The loose cinder and rock were not compacted and the ascent was exposed and challenging, and absolutely worth it in the end. We saw other hikers sitting on the side of the short trail to rest, and I even saw one just crawl the last few feet!
Once we reached the rim of the cinder cone, we saw trails that went around the rim, around the crater, to vistas along the outer rim, and another trail that went down the opposite side from where we had climbed.
Surprisingly, we didn’t see many other hikers follow the trail into the cinder cone’s crater. Tom and I figured that we were already at the top of the cinder cone, and it’s unlikely that we would be there again, and so we descended into the center of the cone.
It was amazing to stand at the bottom and imagine the volcano that once erupted at that very same spot. All we could see were walls of lava rock and cinders that surrounded us, and blue sky. And the thing that looked like a pile of rocks from the top, also looked like a pile of rocks up close. We enjoyed waving at the hikers along the rim above, and then headed out of that hot hole.
Fantastic Lava Beds
The Fantastic Lava Beds were created during the Cinder Cone’s last eruption, around 1650 CE. These lava beds were formed by A’a (ah-ah) lava flow, which is a type of very slow-moving lava flow. It was exciting for me to see this term again, as it was one we had learned at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park! A’a lava flow appears very rough and rocky when it dries, unlike fast-moving lava formations which are smooth in appearance.
The second trail, which descended the cinder cone on the far side of our ascent, appealed to us because it would give us a closer look at the Painted Dunes and the Fantastic Lava Beds, and because we hadn’t seen any other hikers descend that way. We do enjoy a good solitary hike together, and we’d brought plenty of water for the additional mileage!
Painted Dunes
After the last eruption of the Cinder Cone, the cinder and ash continued to fall, and oxidized on the dunes below it. The result was the magnificent Painted Dunes. These were probably my personal favorite aspect of Lassen Volcanic National Park. I couldn’t take my eyes of the smooth rolling hills and the vibrant splashes of color.
We enjoyed stunning views of Lassen Peak for over half of our hike. We hadn’t anticipated hiking the Painted Dunes, but we would definitely recommend it! Seeing the color variation up close and looking at the backside of the cinder cone was an unforgettable experience.
We lingered as the trail turned away from Lassen Peak, taking a long last look before heading back to the trailhead. The entire cinder cone area was exposed, and it was around 1 PM by this time. We picked up the pace, flying by the forest of Jeffrey pines, ready for some shade, lunch, and cold drinks.
Butte Lake
Butte Lake existed before the cinder cone eruption, and the lava fields stretch all the way to the modern edge of the lake.
Tom jumped in the lake to cool off while I made a quick lunch. After we were satiated, we both got in the lake, although one of us submerged their entire body and one of us only went in waist deep. The water was remarkably blue, clear, and cold – but not too cold!
While we were wading around the edge of the lake, we spotted a HUGE crawfish! It was probably 6 inches long, and a fast swimmer! We saw several other, smaller, crawfish and many small fish as well.
