Hat Creek Headwaters Trail

Hat Creek Headwaters is a point-to-point hike from the Hat Lake trailhead toward Summit Lake through Lassen Volcanic’s upper Hat Creek drainage. The connected mapped through-line is about 6.1 miles and takes roughly five hours on foot; allow more time for lake and meadow side trips. It is not a loop, so arrange a vehicle shuttle or pickup at the far end. The road connection between the trailheads is about 2.4 miles.

An older route map lists 7.3 miles and shows several lake and meadow visits as out-and-backs. Their added mileage is not fully traceable in current mapped paths, so this record follows the connected 6.1-mile line and treats those excursions as optional. The mapped line approaches the Summit Lake access area but does not connect exactly to the Ranger Station map pin; follow park signs for the final approach.

From the Hat Lake parking area, cross the park road to the marked trail. The first stretch follows the creek before narrowing into a ravine beside a tributary and climbing more steeply. As the forest opens, a tumbling waterfall and smaller cascades appear along the route. At a junction, a short, roughly 0.1-mile branch leads into Paradise Meadow, where spring-fed Hat Creek winds through grasses and summer wildflowers below the surrounding cliffs. Mount Conard and Lassen Peak peek above the rim.

Beyond the headwaters, the route continues through open woods and high meadows toward the lakes below Reading Peak. Terrace and Shadow Lakes sit close to the mapped through-line, with rocky slopes, conifers and small meadow openings changing the feel of the walk. The approach to the lakes is steep in places, and the shore paths are uneven. The older map marks a separate out-and-back to Cliff Lake; that connector is not verified in the stored route, so count it as an optional excursion rather than part of the 6.1 miles.

The lakes occupy glacial cirques beneath Reading Peak’s north side. Their shorelines and surrounding trees make a noticeable change from the creek ravine and grassy headwaters. If you add a lake spur, retrace it to the main line before continuing to Summit Lake; the separate visits are not interchangeable shortcuts through the terrain.

Hat Creek was an important fishing ground for the Atsugewi. Seasonal movement connected Hat Creek Valley with drainages in the park’s north and northwest, placing this headwaters walk in a landscape shaped by long-standing travel as well as water and volcanic terrain.