It was our final day to spend at Lassen National Park. And it was quite windy, and much more smoky as we left our hotel in Chester. Luckily we were still able to escape the smoky air by the time we entered the park. It was fairly clear and the scenery was beautiful.

We had a few options to round out our day: 7 mile round trip trail to Brokeoff Mountain, 2.6 mile round trip trail to viewspot along the trail to Lassen Peak, and/or ~2 mile round trip trail to Cold Boiling Lake. Considering how windy it was, we still tried for the viewspot on the way to the summit.

When we arrived, we were greeted by skiers that were descending the mountain. They were “snow junkies” and trying to chase any little bit of snow to hold them off until the winter. They said the hike was still worth it for the view. But they didn’t mention anything about the wind.

 

 

At the summit, gusts of wind had to be over 40 MPH. It was definitely the kind of wind that you could lean into. Gorgeous despite the feeling of being blown off the mountain.

Hiking up to the view point and back took about 2.5 hours. We were taking our time and I think the wind really slowed us down. The wind was also exhausting to hike in. It’s also rather unsettling to hear the wind wisp between the trees and knock over some rocks on the hill slope.

After the hike we drove up to where the road was closed (Summit Lake South) and discovered that the Summit Lake area was still closed. We turned around and headed out of the park.

All in all, Lassen Volcanic National Park is gorgeous. It also seems so remote due to the lack of crowds. Even without the fires, I’ve heard that the park never really gets crowded. So consider it a hidden gem amongst the wonderful national parks in California.