Campground · Lassen Volcanic National Park
Eight reservable group sites under the ponderosa pines.
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 area
The Bird That Plants Pines“Some of the whitebark pines high on these mountains started in a bird's food stash. Clark's nutcrackers pull seeds from cones, carry them in a pouch under the tongue, and bury them for winter.”
Plays on the road 0.4 mi from Lost Creek Group Campground 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
Lost Creek Group Campground is an eight-site loop on the main park road, about five miles south of Manzanita Lake. Every site is reserved for a group of 10–25 people, so this is the place to book when your party wants to camp together; it isn't set up for individual campsites. It sits among large ponderosa pines and makes a handy base for Manzanita Lake, the Devastated Area and Summit Lake.
Each group site has three picnic tables, three fire grates, three metal food lockers and parking for up to six vehicles or one bus or RV. There are no hookups, showers, store or cell service here. Vault toilets and potable water are seasonal, so check availability before relying on them. The Manzanita Lake Camper Store, showers, laundry and a dump station are about five miles away. Fires must stay in the provided grates; only gather downed wood under four inches across and within 30 feet of the road.
At 5,700 feet, summer nights can dip to 35–45°F even when daytime highs are in the 70s and 80s. Snow closes the campground for winter, and it doesn't reopen until late spring at the earliest. Sites are mostly flat and may be accessible by wheelchair, though none is designated ADA; the vault toilets are wheelchair-accessible.
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
ModerateCrags Lake Trail4 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.8 mi awayRocky Chaos Jumbles give way to a high view of Crags Lake.
EasyLily Pond Interpretive Trail0.8 mi · 1 hr · 2.9 mi awayAn easy, interpretive loop through pond, meadow and volcanic forest.
EasyReflection Lake Loop0.6 mi · 30 min · 3 mi awayAn easy loop for Lassen Peak reflected in the lake.
EasyManzanita Lake Loop1.8 mi · 1 hr · 3.2 mi awayLassen Peak and Chaos Crags can double in still lake water.
ModerateManzanita Creek Trail7 mi · 4 hr · 3.3 mi awayA forest creek climb to a marshy meadow beneath Loomis Peak.
EasyDevastated Area Interpretive Trail0.3 mi · 20 min · 4.2 mi awayA quick accessible loop among the rocks left by Lassen's 1915 eruption.
ChallengingHat Creek Headwaters Trail6.1 mi · 5 hr · 4.6 mi awayA shuttle hike from creekside falls to meadow and lake country.ModerateHat Lake to Paradise Meadows Trail2.8 mi · 2 hr · 4.6 mi awayA shaded creek climb to a meadow beneath Lassen’s rocky cliffs.
Campground · 0.2 mi awayVolcano Adventure CampCabins and ranger-led learning, reserved for youth groups.
Historic marker · 1 mi awaySunflower FlatA quick stop ties the park road to an 1850s wagon route.
Scenic pullout · 2 mi awayChaos Crags ViewpointQuick roadside stop: rock avalanches left a field of frozen waves.
Sight · 2.3 mi awayHot RockA mudflow carried this boulder down Lassen Peak in 1915.
Sight · 3 mi awayLoomis MuseumA compact museum built around photos of Lassen Peak’s 1914 eruption.
Sight · 3.1 mi awayReflection LakeLassen Peak and Chaos Crags double in a calm lake.
Store · 3.2 mi awayManzanita Lake Camper StoreFood, camper basics, showers and rentals at the Manzanita Lake campground.
Sight · 3.2 mi awayManzanita LakeA shore loop with Lassen Peak reflected in the water.Parkwolf’s Lassen Volcanic ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
