Lassen Volcanic National Park: Camping and Hiking with Dogs
Destination:
Manzanita Lake Campground | Lassen Volcanic National Park | California
Camping Journal Entry:
July 22nd, 2022
I get dropped off at the trailhead and Neal drives away with the dogs. We have to take turns hiking because dogs are not allowed on national park trails. I walk fast, but I’m careful not to step off the boardwalk of Bumpass Hell; I wouldn’t want to lose a leg to boiling sulfuric acid mud like poor Kendall Vanhook Bumpass. Neal really likes to emphasize every part of the trail name. He thinks it is funny that I can’t say it out loud. I’ve never been able to cuss… it just wouldn’t sound natural - I’m not that cool (wish I could be though).
Manzanita Lake Trail is nice and smells better. It reminds me of when my mom and I would walk around the lake at Lincoln State Park in Indiana when I was a kid (except the views are a bit better here). We would go at dusk with flashlights and pretend that Jason from Friday the 13th was after us (nothing more thrilling than possibly being slashed to death).
So much camping this summer. Getting kind of exhausted, but must keep going to escape the brutal heat at home...
Camping Information:
Manzanita Lake Campground is the largest developed campground at Lassen Volcanic National Park. The campground consists of 179 sites in 4 different loops (see campground map and other info here) Our first overall impression was that is was a little crowded and the spaces didn't offer much privacy (which we expected for such a large campground).
We stayed in site D11 (shown above and below); it seemed to be more spacious and private than a lot of other sites (relatively speaking). The entire D-loop is for tents only. We did a walk through of the campground and made note of other sites we liked for future reference: D13, D18, C26, C28, B22, and B24
Pros:
Walking distance to Manzanita Lake and close to other Lassen trails.
No road noise.
Decent amenities (bathrooms, water, and bear lockers)
Cons:
Not much privacy between sites and most sites are small.
National Parks in general do not allow dogs to do much (but the purpose of this post is to share things that we can do to make it work -since we have to bring the dogs on trips during fire season).
Hiking Information:
Since dogs are not allowed on National Park trails, it does help to travel with a partner. Neal and I took turns hiking the main trails while one of us stayed at the campground with the dogs. Not as fun as being together, but it was the only way to make the most of our trip. I hiked the Bumpass Hell Trail (lol) and the Manzanita Lake Trail. Both were great! I especially loved that the Manzanita Lake Trail was just a short walk from our campsite.
There are areas right outside the park where you can take your dogs hiking. We drove to the Spattercone Nature Trail which is a 1.5 mile loop trail and was less than a 20 minute drive from Manzanita Lake Campground. The beginning part of this trail was forested (with some shade), but most of it was uncovered (but with great views!) I would only recommend taking this trail if the weather is on the cooler side (I personally wouldn't go if it were above 70 degrees and sunny).
Another dog-friendly option that we haven't tried yet is the Heart Lake Trail which is a 4.5 mile out and back trail.
Finally, if you are looking for something different to do on your trip- you should try Geocaching (which is like a real life treasure hunt)! There are many large ammo can caches in the area (which I think are the best). The official geocaching app shows you where all of them are hidden on a map and you can use the navigation tool to help you find them. I even found a couple of them at the Spattercone Nature Trail.
