Lassen National Park, situated in the rugged climate remote Northern California, is one of the oldest US National Parks and is characterized by unspoiled wilderness. Within the park, you will find Mount Lassen, an active volcano that last erupted from 1914-1917, as well as much evidence of the park’s unique landscape, including jagged rocks, an enormous crater, beautiful lakes and ponds, and a diversity of wildlife.
Our family’s first destination on our Summer 2020 RV Road Trip was Lassen Volcanic National Park, where we spent three days. After driving about 4 1/2 hours from our home in Alamo, California, we arrived at Manzanita Lake, located in the Northern tip of the park, and quickly settled into the Manzanita Lake Campground in the park, playing trackball, football, building a fire, and grilling dinner outside. It appeared that we were off and running.
At one point during our time outside the night by the campfire, Justin went inside to grab a drink from the fridge, quickly noticing that the refrigerator appeared to not be running. He quickly shifted into triage mode, trying to figure out why the fridge and inverter had not switched over to battery mode (we didn’t have any hookups in the campground at Manzanita Lake). After an hour and a half of pouring through manuals (unfortunately, we didn’t have cell reception in the park, so that was out of the question for helping troubleshoot), he recommended that we move to a location with hookups, as our food would otherwise spoil by morning. We packed up and left our campsite at 10:30pm, kids sleeping, and headed to a KOA about 30 miles outside the park, scoring the LAST site available (not quite sure how we lucked out there, but we took the win) for the night. We crashed hard.
Waking up the next morning, we were able to get the names of a few RV repair men in the area, each of whom we called and who also quickly told us that they were booked out through at least July. It was clear that the popularity of RV travel during the summer COVID pandemic was extreme.
Eventually, after several phone calls, Justin reached our RV dealer, who explained that we could bring our RV into their Sacramento location for them to try to fix the problem. This meant that Justin would be on the road ALL day that day, driving back from Lassen to the Bay Area. At that point, I agreed to pack up the kids and everything we would need for the day, with plans for Justin to leave the kids and I in the park to explore, and then we could meet back up at a designated spot that evening. I knew this plan was risky, as there was no cell reception in most areas of Lassen. In addition, it was Quinn’s Birthday that day, and we both were extremely sad to think about spending that day apart.
As we began backtracking for Justin to drop us off the park before departing for Sacramento, we received a call on his phone from a mobile repairman (recommended to us by the KOA owner, as it was his neighbor), who we had called earlier that morning and not yet heard back from. This was serendipitous because we had not had any luck with reception to that point, and that call had come through. After Justin spent a minute on the phone with Fred (pulled over on the side of the road so the call wouldn’t drop), Fred explained that he lived “a stone’s throw” from where we were pulled over.
Sure enough, 200 yards later, we pulled into Fred’s driveway, where his wife, Dana, let us in the gate to their property. Within about 30 minutes, Fred was able to diagnose and fix the issue with our inverter while the kids and I played some games in the RV. By the Grace of God, we were back up and running, and these strangers had SAVED Quinn’s Birthday, and given our family the day back together in Lassen.
Thanking Fred for his help and kindness, I explained to him that it was Quinn’s Birthday, and how grateful we were to have the day back in the park together as a family. Fred and Dana were quick to chime in, “We have a present for the Birthday boy. If you meet us at the Boat Launch on the lake at 6pm tonight, we’d love to take you for an evening kayak paddle.” We were beyond touched, and even a bit surprised that someone would offer something so kind for people they had just met. We agreed to meet them that evening.
Our family departed to re-enter Lassen Volcanic National Park, stopping at the Visitor Center briefly, and then heading to King’s Creek and Meadows for a hike. We hiked 3 miles to the most gorgeous waterfalls, King’s Creek Falls, and saw a mama and baby bear on our way. It was a spectacular afternoon.
After our hike, we returned to Manzanita Lake and, per Quinn’s request, he opened presents, we played a few games of family football and trackball, and then departed the campground to meet Fred and Dana down at the lake.
We had the most amazing kayak trip out on Manzanita Lake that late afternoon, at the most gorgeous time of day. Fred and Dana had brought kayaks for each of us, including a small one for Quinn so that he could paddle on his own, and we enjoyed the most beautiful views of Lassen peak from the lake. It was so special. We still truly couldn’t believe we had been given this opportunity by mere strangers, but we were gracious and enjoyed every second.
That evening, our family grilled cheeseburgers, per the Birthday Boy’s request, and made an awesome campfire (Brady and Hayden did the whole thing themselves) that evening. Quinn told us he had the “Best Birthday.” God was clearly watching out for us in so many ways on this day, and we were so grateful.
The next morning, we woke up, and Justin and I enjoyed coffee outside under the pines before heading to Butte Lake. We had not planned our exact route for the day, but had a recommendation from one of the park rangers to hike Cinder Cone, a volcano outlet that had first erupted in 1650.
We set out on our hike with the anticipation of making it to the viewpoint of the cinder cone. The kids, though ambivalent about the hike at first, came to life, and we cruised along the trail, which led us to the base of the cone. Upon arrival, Grace insisted, “I’m hiking to the top!” We all set off on the 500 ft climb to the top of the cinder cone. It was STEEP, and I am still not sure how we did it, sliding on lava and volcanic rock the whole way up. Justin gave Quinn a ride halfway up, and it was BEYOND me how he was able to even lift him up, all while sliding down with each step.
After the struggle, we all made it up to the top. The view into the cinder cone was amazing, and the views all around, including toward Mt. Lassen, were spectacular. Hayden declared, “I will remember this as the day that I hiked up a volcano!” Justin and I were so proud of them that day.
Once we traveled across the rim, Justin, Grace, Brady, and I descended all the way into the cone, which gave us an amazing perspective of the depth of this crater.
We then set off for the RV, and to depart for Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. It had been a memorable and incredible visit to Lassen National Park for our entire family.
