Manzanita Lake Loop (Lassen Volcanic National Park, California)

 

After grabbing some lunch and sampling a couple of beers at a brewpub in Redding, I start the journey home from my weekend in the Whiskeytown Lake National Recreation Area, but as it is still early in the day, I consider doing one more short hike on the way.

Lassen Volcanic National Park is about an hour from Redding and about 2.5 hours from Reno. I've have visited the park numerous times during my time living in Reno. It's a beautiful place and offers a lot of insight into what's going on below the earth's surface. However, much of the park is closed to vehicle traffic for the majority of the year due to this area receiving exceptional amounts of snow during the winter months. As it is still early May, the road through the park is still closed, but that doesn't mean that some of the lower trails aren't still accessible.

I decided to take a quick hike around the Manzanita Lake Loop, which is just past the northwestern entrance to the park. It's a quick hike and hopefully, it will give me some good shots with a snow-covered Lassen Peak as the backdrop. The trail starts out very easy as it crosses a small stream feeding the lake and meanders through the pondersa pine. Pine needles carpet the forest floor. The park and it's trails don't see much traffic this early in the season. There are a few visitors either hiking or picnic scattered about though.

Making my way clockwise around the lake, I test the water temperature. Frigid as expected from this snowmelt fed body of water. Waterfowl play and squabble in the distance, and a cool breeze blows through keeping me a little chilled in my t-shirt and shorts, but not uncomfortable.

Winding around a sharp bend, the lake is now between me and Lassen Peak, which is one of the shots I was hoping for. Another group has found this same spot and are taking advantage of the angles just as I intend to do. It's a beautiful site.

As I round the final bend of the trail, it runs parallel to the entrance road, but there is not much traffic. I snap a few more pictures before hoping in the jeep and returning home. 2-miles in total for this short hike, but it was nice to stretch my legs a bit and get some amazing views.