Parking
Reach Juniper Lake via Chester Juniper Lake Road. The final six miles are rough and unsuitable for RVs, buses and trailers.
Overview
About Rainbow Lake Loop
Why go
- Links Rainbow, Swan and Lower Twin lakes in one circuit
Heads up
- A long day at roughly 6,100–7,000 feet
- The short snow-free season limits when the route is practical
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Lassen Volcanic map
Full mapElevation6,109–7,037 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 Rainbow Lake 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 Rainbow Lake Loop
A lake-country loopRainbow Lake Loop is a 13.
Rainbow Lake Loop is a 13.4-mile circuit from Juniper Lake linking Rainbow, Swan and Lower Twin lakes. It is a long, remote route through the park’s southeastern high country, with three named lake destinations along one circuit. The published climb is about 1,700 feet, and the route stays roughly between 6,100 and 7,000 feet.
Budget a full dayAllow about eight to nine hours. The route has no trail-specific time estimate; 8.
Allow about eight to nine hours. The route has no trail-specific time estimate; 8.5 hours is a planning estimate based on its distance and climbing, not a fastest reported pace. This is a substantial high-elevation day, so leave room for rests and route-finding.
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.
