Parking
Start at the Horseshoe Lake/Snag Lake Trailhead off Juniper Lake Road. Confirm the legal public parking point with the park; the exact parking location at this access isn't clearly established.
Overview
About Grassy Creek Short Loop
Why go
- Open Grassy Creek meadows are the payoff after the ridge.
- A real loop with a modest 850-foot climb for the distance.
Heads up
- The rarely used meadow cutoff can be difficult to find.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Lassen Volcanic map
Full mapElevation6,499–7,060 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 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 Grassy Creek Short Loop, 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 area
Juniper Lake: Beach or Long Loop0:00 / 0:29
“You’re nearing Juniper Lake’s north-shore day-use area, where a gravel-and-sand beach looks across the water toward Mount Harkness.”
Plays near this trailhead in the Parkwolf Lassen Volcanic Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Crystal Lake: A Short but Steep Climb
- Mount Harkness: Meadow Views and a Lost Lookout
- Life Inside a Burned Tree
- The Pika's Winter Pantry
- 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 Grassy Creek Short Loop
The loopGrassy Creek Short Loop is a 5.
Grassy Creek Short Loop is a 5.8-mile circuit from the Horseshoe Lake/Snag Lake Trailhead on Juniper Lake Road. It climbs over a ridge to Jakey Lake Creek, uses a rarely traveled cutoff into a meadow, then follows Grassy Creek through open meadows before climbing back to the start. The route map lists about 850 feet of gain; allow roughly three to three and a half hours. Take it for the creekside meadow stretch, but expect to pay attention at the cutoff.
The cutoffThe hardest part to follow is the lightly used connection from Jakey Lake Creek into the meadow.
The hardest part to follow is the lightly used connection from Jakey Lake Creek into the meadow. Route finding can be difficult there. Have the route loaded offline and watch for that turn; this isn't a good choice if you need a prominent tread all the way.
Grassy CreekThe walk's main reward is the open meadow along Grassy Creek, with the stream threading between…
The walk's main reward is the open meadow along Grassy Creek, with the stream threading between forested edges. The older route map marks footlog crossings, but their current condition isn't verified, so be ready for the creek to lack a usable bridge.
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.
