Manzanita Lake

Start at the southeast-shore day-use area and follow the loop clockwise or counterclockwise. The shoreline path is mostly level, but it’s dirt with exposed roots and stones underfoot. Allow about an hour if you want to stop along the way. A 0.2-mile connector links the boat-launch parking area with Loomis Plaza, where there’s another trailhead.

Canoes, kayaks, and float tubes must use the designated launch; motorized boats aren’t allowed. Watercraft rentals are seasonal: pay at the nearby Manzanita Camper Store, then pick them up at the launch. The store also sells ready-to-go items.

Manzanita Lake is one of the park’s most popular fishing lakes. Rainbow and brown trout live here, but fishing is catch-and-release with one barbless hook; use lures or flies, not bait, and bring a California fishing license. The day-use area has picnic tables, potable water, and seasonal accessible restrooms.

For Lassen Peak reflected across the lake, try the north or northwest shore when the water is calm. The day-use picnic area looks west across the water and is a favorite sunset spot.

A collapsing dome at Chaos Crags sent a rock avalanche down the valley. The debris dammed Manzanita Creek and formed the lake. The age of the avalanche varies between park accounts, so the formation story is clearer than its date. Its broken-rock deposit is now partly covered by a dwarf forest at Chaos Jumbles.

The lake is one of the park’s most accessible places to watch wildlife. Summer sightings include bufflehead ducks, pied-billed grebes, spotted sandpipers, warblers, and common nighthawks; muskrats and mule deer are seen here too.

Follow Manzanita Lake Campground Road to the southeast-shore day-use lot. Accessible parking is beside the launch, but the park describes lake access over soft soil and does not establish that the full shore loop is accessible. Pets aren’t allowed at the lake; the park limits them to paved parking areas on a leash under six feet. The park highway can remain snowbound into summer, with openings varying from May through July, and the area has few services in winter and early spring. Check road status before heading in.