Beautiful Highway 89 North from Truckee, CA.  We left Truckee searching for beautiful fall colors and new destinations for us.  Driving north towards Hobart Mills, thru the small cattle town of Sierraville, on to Graeale a golfers retreat, Quincy and Keddie. We had been this far in the past.

We continued on to Lake Almanor. A large lake with many access points and looks like it will require a return visit for kayaking next spring.

Lake Almanor near the dam.  A much larger lake than we expected.
Onward on Hwy 89, to the Scenic Volcano Legacy highway which leads into and out of Lassen Volcano National Park.

Starting at the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitors Center we oriented ourselves and set out to explore the park.

First stop,  ‘Sulphur Works’ to see the boiling mud pots which were very close to the road. Prior to the 1952 purchase of this area from the Supan family it had been a bathhouse and dining hall since 1865.

We had a picnic at Lake Helen which is at the base of Lassen Peak.

Next stop was the Bumpass Hell parking area, overlook and trailhead. The trail is about 1.5 miles down to a great boardwalk thru the geothermal area. Then, be prepared for 1.5 miles back up, but well worth the hike. You may notice the altitude as the trail starts at 8,000 feet.

We stopped at various view points on the 32 mile road thru the park.

Our last areas were called ‘Devastated Area’  and ‘Chaos Crags’ and ‘Jumbles’ which helped to show the power of the volcanic eruptions in the 1800’s and 1914!

A beautiful park which definitely needs more exploration and hiking. We didn’t realize that we could have downloaded an audio guide to all the points of interest before we went to the park.  Most of the part did not have cell service.  Go here to download the audio guide to your phone before going to Lassen Volcano National Park.

We continued north on Hwy 89 along the beautiful Hat Creek and it’s watershed area.  We turned onto Hwy 299 to spend the night at Burney, CA before we will continue north on Hwy 89.

Mostly an RV town with a few hotels.  We stayed at the Charms Motor Lodge which was basic but clean, remodeled and good for the night. Tomorrow, we visit Burney Falls.