Parking
Roadside pullout on Juniper Lake Road, about 0.3 mile beyond the Juniper Lake Campground turnoff. NPS notices conflict about vehicle access to the approach; check current conditions before driving.
Overview
About Crystal Lake Trail
Why go
- A short climb reaches an alpine lake and broad views over Juniper Lake.
- Crystal Cliffs and the volcanic peak chain give the destination a clear payoff.
Heads up
- A steep climb is packed into a short distance.
- Fire-affected sections can be difficult to follow, with standing dead trees a hazard.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Lassen Volcanic map
Full mapElevation6,860–7,224 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
1 active Lassen Volcanic alert
- ClosureJuniper Lake campground and day-use area closedMentions Juniper Lake, referenced in this guideJuniper 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 Crystal 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
Crystal Lake: A Short but Steep Climb0:00 / 0:26
“Crystal Lake trailhead is ahead, for a short, steep hike to a lake beneath Crystal Cliffs. Allow forty-five minutes to an hour for just under a mile round trip, with about four hundred feet of climbing on rocky ground.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Lassen Volcanic Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Mount Harkness: Meadow Views and a Lost Lookout
- Juniper Lake: Beach or Long Loop
- Life Inside a Burned Tree
- The Trees That Dated a Volcano
- 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 Crystal Lake Trail
The walkCrystal Lake Trail is a 0.
Crystal Lake Trail is a 0.9-mile round-trip out-and-back from a roadside start on Juniper Lake Road to a small glacial lake below Crystal Cliffs. The mapped tread is about 0.43 mile one way; allow 45 minutes to an hour for the steep climb and a stop at the water. It packs roughly 400 feet of gain into a short route, so choose it for the lake rather than an easy stroll.
Up the slopeThe rocky path climbs through fir, lodgepole pine, chinquapin and manzanita, with a west-facing…
The rocky path climbs through fir, lodgepole pine, chinquapin and manzanita, with a west-facing view opening partway up. The 2021 Dixie Fire affected sections of the hillside, and parts of the tread may be faint or undefined. Much of the route is sun-exposed, so the climb feels more demanding than its mileage suggests.
At Crystal LakeThe lake sits beneath Crystal Cliffs, whose east-shore ridges rise about 300 feet above the…
The lake sits beneath Crystal Cliffs, whose east-shore ridges rise about 300 feet above the water. From a rocky knob on the south side, the view crosses Juniper Lake toward Brokeoff Peak, Lassen Peak and Chaos Crags. If you take a photo, include some of Crystal Lake in the foreground to connect the near shore with the distant peak line.
Access and footingThe roadside start is described about 0.3 mile beyond the Juniper Lake Campground turnoff.
The roadside start is described about 0.3 mile beyond the Juniper Lake Campground turnoff. Check current vehicle access before driving: NPS road and trail notices give conflicting information about the Juniper Lake approach. The route has steep, rocky footing; fire-affected stretches may be hard to follow, and standing dead trees can fall without warning. Pets are not allowed on park hiking 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.
