Parking
Use Kings Creek Picnic Area on Lassen Peak Highway; the trail begins within the picnic-area access.
Overview
About Cold Boiling Lake Trail
Why go
- Short, mostly level access to an unusual hydrothermal lake
Heads up
- Gas bubbles can be faint or absent from the shore
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Lassen Volcanic map
Full mapElevation7,415–7,487 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
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 Cold Boiling Lake 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
Kings Creek Picnic Area and Cold Boiling Lake0:00 / 0:27
“You're coming up on the turnoff for Kings Creek Picnic Area, a shaded place to stop for lunch near the creek.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Lassen Volcanic Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Kings Creek Meadow: A Roadside Wildlife Pause
- Why Snow Turns Pink
- Kings Creek Falls: Cascades and Stone Steps
- Terrace Lake Trailhead: Three Lakes or Two
- 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 Cold Boiling Lake Trail
A short trip to a hydrothermal lakeCold Boiling Lake Trail is a mostly level out-and-back from Kings Creek Picnic Area to a…
Cold Boiling Lake Trail is a mostly level out-and-back from Kings Creek Picnic Area to a lakeshore hydrothermal area. Plan on about 1.6 miles round trip (0.8 mile each way) and 45–60 minutes. It’s a quick walk for an unusual volcanic feature, rather than a long hike or a guaranteed bubbling show. This listing turns back at Cold Boiling Lake; continuing toward Crumbaugh Lake or Bumpass Hell makes a longer outing.
The walkThe trail is fairly level overall, with a small rise near the start before it settles out.
The trail is fairly level overall, with a small rise near the start before it settles out. The lake shore is the turnaround. Parts of the approach cross ground affected by the 2021 Dixie Fire, leaving open, changed sections of forest where shade is limited.
Why the lake may not bubbleThe name doesn’t promise a rolling boil.
The name doesn’t promise a rolling boil. Cold Boiling Lake is a waning hydrothermal area, and small amounts of gas escape at a few points near shore. The bubbles may be too faint or localized to notice from much of the lake, so expect a quiet lakeside stop rather than a geyser or a bubbling mudpot field.
Keep to the trailIn Lassen’s hydrothermal areas, a thin crust can hide hot, acidic pools, so stay on established…
In Lassen’s hydrothermal areas, a thin crust can hide hot, acidic pools, so stay on established tread. The park warns that standing dead trees in the fire-affected area can fall without warning. Pets are not allowed on park trails.
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.
