Sight · Lassen Volcanic National Park
Green water, rocky shore, and Lassen Peak in the same frame.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Lassen Volcanic Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Lassen Volcanic National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Lassen Volcanic audio tourRecorded for this place
Emerald Lake: Green Shallows Beside the Road“Emerald Lake is coming up, a small roadside stop with green water colored by vegetation in the shallows. I'd keep this to a quick look from the pullout; parking is limited.”
Plays as you drive up to Emerald Lake in the Parkwolf Lassen Volcanic Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Emerald Lake is a small, shallow lake right beside Lassen Volcanic National Park Highway. Stop for its striking green water and high-country setting if you are already on the drive; this is a quick roadside look, not a destination hike. Parking is limited, so keep the visit brief and use only the pullout. Treat this as a view-and-go stop; plan food and restroom stops elsewhere.
The rocky shore and conifers frame the lake, and from some angles the tip of Lassen Peak appears beyond it. The best composition is the green water with the rocky, flowered edge in front. Stay on durable ground: the shore wildflowers are fragile, and the park asks visitors not to walk on them or set gear among them.
Vegetation growing in the shallow water gives Emerald Lake its color. The lake is small enough that its clear shallows and shoreline rocks remain part of the view, with the steep, pale slope and trees visible across the water.
Park staff used to stock the lake with fish, turning the roadside stop into a kind of aquarium. There are no fish in the lake now.
Wildlife
103 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
44 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
348 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
17 sightingsSandhill CraneMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
47 sightingsGreat Blue HeronMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
12 sightingsGreat EgretMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Lassen Volcanic. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ModerateBumpass Hell Trail3 mi · 2 hr · 0.2 mi awayA steady first mile leads to a steaming basin boardwalk.
ModerateConard Meadows Shuttle Trail8 mi · 4.5 hr · 0.2 mi awayA shuttle links two lakes, Conard Meadows and a 75-foot waterfall.ChallengingTwin Meadows Shuttle Hike14.4 mi · 9 hr · 0.2 mi awayA faint, long downhill shuttle through high meadows and volcanic country.
ChallengingLassen Peak Trail5 mi · 4.5 hr · 0.8 mi awayCinder slopes and ridge switchbacks reach a volcanic summit.
ChallengingRidge Lakes Trail2.2 mi · 1.8 hr · 1.6 mi awayA steep climb to two small lakes in a volcanic cirque.
EasyCrumbaugh Lake Trail2.6 mi · 1.5 hr · 2 mi awayTwo lakes, muted bubbles, and a meadow below Mount Conard.
ModerateTerrace, Shadow, and Cliff Lakes Trail3.4 mi · 3 hr · 2.1 mi awayThree alpine lakes, a steep return, and Lassen Peak views.
ModerateShadow Lake Shuttle Trail3.7 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.1 mi awayThree lakes, then a mostly downhill walk to Summit Lake
Scenic pullout · 0.2 mi awayBrokeoff Volcano VistaA glacial boulder below the rim of an ancient volcano.
Sight · 0.5 mi awayLake HelenA blue alpine lake beneath Lassen Peak can stay icy into summer.
Scenic pullout · 0.7 mi awayLittle Hot Springs Valley OverlookBinoculars help reveal vents in the valley below.
Scenic pullout · 0.8 mi awayLassen Peak Scenic VistaA roadside portrait of Lassen Peak without the summit hike.
Sight · 1.1 mi awayBumpass HellWalk boardwalks among bubbling pools and steaming vents in a 16-acre basin.
Sight · 1.6 mi awayLassen PeakA strenuous summit climb on one of the world’s largest plug domes.
Scenic pullout · 1.6 mi awayDiamond Peak Scenic VistaA quick pullout for Lassen Peak and the creek valley.
Sight · 1.6 mi awaySulphur WorksColored mudpots and steam, just steps from the park highway.Parkwolf’s Lassen Volcanic ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
