Lassen Volcanic National Park: Hiking to Bumpass Hell
One of the biggest surprises of visiting all the U.S. national parks was discovering places we’d never even heard of. I used to think that if something was truly spectacular, it would already be famous – a household name. Turns out, that’s not true at all. Lassen Volcanic National Park in northern California is a perfect example, and Bumpass Hell is one of the park’s most memorable spots.
Lassen has one of the highest concentrations of geothermal features (fumaroles, boiling pools, mud pots, that sort of thing) anywhere in the world, and many of them are found in the Bumpass Hell area. We think of Bumpass as a little Yellowstone. Once you’re surrounded by steam and the smell of sulphur, you’d swear you were in Wyoming and that a bison might be just around the next corner.
Strange name, stranger place
The name is odd, I admit. The area is named after Kendall Vanhook Bumpass, an early settler who had an unfortunate accident while exploring the thermal features. In the 1860s, he badly burned his leg after breaking through a thin crust of ground and stepping into boiling water.
About five and a half miles north of the park’s Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center, along the main park road, you’ll find a trailhead parking lot. The overlook from the parking area gives you expansive views of the park to the southeast.
Save some energy for the return
The trail to Bumpass Hell starts at this parking area. After hiking about a mile and a half, you’ll reach the Bumpass Hell area itself. The trail mostly descends on the way out, but the roughly 300 feet of elevation gain will give you a moderate workout on the return.
Are we there yet?
You will have no doubt when you reach the destination. The smell usually greets hikers before they arrive, but we’ve never found it overwhelming. On cold days and early in the morning, the steam coming from the thermal features is most dramatic.
Bumpass Hell feels raw and unsettled, with constant noise and movement coming straight from the ground. The earth here is thin and heated from below, with temperatures reaching extreme levels just inches beneath the surface.
At the site, the park has constructed boardwalks that allow visitors to safely get close to the thermal features. Stay on the designated trails and boardwalks. Just like Yellowstone, the surface of the ground can be thin and brittle in places, and the water below can be life-threateningly hot. If that’s a word.
Or you can use the backdoor
There is a shorter trail to Bumpass Hell if you’d like. A trail starting at the King’s Creek Picnic Area, which is further east on the park road, is only about a half-mile hike to the thermal features. That’s one mile out and back.
Trail Facts
- Distance: About 3 miles round trip
- Elevation gain: About 300 feet
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Trail type: Out and back
- Typical time required: 1.5 to 2 hours
- Best season: Summer through early fall
- Crowd level: High during peak summer months
Good to Know
- Pets are not allowed on any trails in the park.
- Snow lingers late into the season and often keeps the trail closed into early summer
- Boardwalk sections can be slick from moisture
- Staying on the trail is required due to unstable ground and extreme heat below the surface
- Afternoon thunderstorms are common in summer
Nearby or Related
- Hikers often hike to Lassen Peak, which offers a longer and more strenuous hike for visitors looking to see the park from above. The trailhead is just a little ways north on the park road from the Bumpass Hell Trailhead parking area. The trail to Lassen Peak is about 5 miles out and back with About 2,000 feet elevation gain.
- This area of northern California can feel like no man’s land, but there are other outdoor destinations worth checking out. Lava Beds National Monument is about a three-hour drive north of the park. We enjoy exploring the lava tubes in this unique national monument.
