Parking
Start at the Bumpass Hell parking area on Lassen Park Highway, about seven miles from the Southwest Entrance. Spaces are limited and often fill mid-morning through early afternoon, especially on weekends. Vault toilet at the trailhead only.
Overview
About Bumpass Hell Trail
Why go
- A boardwalk brings you close to bubbling pools, mudpots and vents.
- Volcanic overlooks make the approach part of the payoff.
Heads up
- The steep 300-foot climb out of the basin comes late in the walk.
- Limited parking and a popular boardwalk can mean crowded stretches.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Lassen Volcanic map
Full mapElevation8,130–8,399 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
Safety
1 active Lassen Volcanic alert
- ClosureJuniper Lake campground and day-use area closedJuniper Lake Campground and day-use area are closed for maintenance and campground-improvement projects. - Potable water is unavailable in the campground.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Lassen Volcanic Tour Guide
Your drive to Bumpass Hell Trail, narrated.
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 trailhead
Bumpass Hell and the Volcano Vista0:00 / 0:35
“You're approaching the Bumpass Hell trailhead, the starting point for Lassen's largest hydrothermal basin.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Lassen Volcanic Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Emerald Lake: Green Shallows Beside the Road
- Lake Helen: A Cold High-Country Stop
- Lassen Peak: Roadside View or Summit
- Little Hot Springs Valley: Vents and Spring Grass
- 45 audio storiesacross Lassen Volcanic’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Black Bear, Bald Eagle, Mule Deer, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 59 trails, 56 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Bumpass Hell Trail
Is this the hike you want?Bumpass Hell Trail is about a 3-mile out-and-back from the Bumpass Hell parking area, through…
Bumpass Hell Trail is about a 3-mile out-and-back from the Bumpass Hell parking area, through the basin boardwalk and up to a second overlook on the eastern side. Allow about two hours. If you want to see active hydrothermal ground up close without taking on a full-day hike, this is one of Lassen’s best choices. The first mile is easier than the finish: after the basin overlook, the path drops roughly 300 feet into the basin, and you climb that back out. The route sits above 8,000 feet, so that return can feel harder than the mileage suggests.
The first mileFrom the parking area, the packed-gravel trail follows the northeast slope of Bumpass Mountain.
From the parking area, the packed-gravel trail follows the northeast slope of Bumpass Mountain. It’s mostly level for the first mile, with views over Little Hot Springs Valley. At about half a mile, stop at the overlook for five remnant peaks of ancestral Brokeoff Volcano. Around the one-mile mark, another overlook opens over the basin. The main path is about four feet wide to this point; the routes into the basin are narrower. Much of the walk is sunny and exposed.
Down to the boardwalkFrom the basin overlook, the main path descends about 300 feet to the hydrothermal ground.
From the basin overlook, the main path descends about 300 feet to the hydrothermal ground. The boardwalk crosses part of the basin and turns around near Pyrite Pool. Continue along the second trail on the north and east sides to another basin overlook; most hikers turn there and retrace the route to the parking area. A restored, roughly 0.2-mile historic path gives you a less-steep alternative between the rim and basin, with a close look at shallow boiling pools called frypans and nearby wetlands.
What’s happening underfootThis is the park’s largest hydrothermal area, with its hottest and most vigorous features.
This is the park’s largest hydrothermal area, with its hottest and most vigorous features. Steam vents, bubbling pools and mudpots sit among pale mineral ground, and the details can change as the basin stays geologically active. That chalky-looking soil is volcanic rock altered by steam and sulfuric acid, leaving silica and kaolinite behind. Stay on the established paths and boardwalk: a thin crust can cover boiling acidic water or mud, and the ground beside the trail is not safe to cross.
The name and the trailThe basin is named for Kendall Bumpass, who broke through its thin crust into a boiling spring…
The basin is named for Kendall Bumpass, who broke through its thin crust into a boiling spring and was badly burned; his leg was later amputated. The trail itself dates to 1935, when the Civilian Conservation Corps built the original route. A later rehabilitation improved the path, overlooks and boardwalk while keeping the historic trail character.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Lassen Volcanic
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.
