Field Trips

Lassen Volcanic National Park makes an excellent classroom and offers educational activities in both the summer and winter months. Field trips may be self-led, include a pre-scheduled ranger-led educational program, or include overnight camping at the new Volcano Adventure Camp. The following documents apply to all types of field trips within the park; be sure to submit your fee waiver at least two weeks before your visit.

Pre-Visit Planning Guide (pdf, 413 KB)
Guidelines For a Safe Visit (pdf, 33 KB)
Fee Waiver Application (doc, 94 KB)
Fee Waiver Information (pdf, 97 KB)

 

Self-Led Field Trip Opportunities

We invite you to consider the following activities and resources for use during your Lassen field trip.

Geology Discovery Hunt

Use the exhibits at the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center or Loomis Museum to help your students learn more about geology in the park. Ask a ranger for the handout.

Lily Pond Nature Trail

Lead your students on an easy one-mile loop trail along lake shores, forest edges, and through a portion of the rock avalanche area called Chaos Jumbles. Stakes along the trail correspond to numbered paragraphs that explain points of interest and natural features. Guides can be obtained at the trailhead across the highway from the Loomis Museum.

Cinder Cone

Lead your students on this moderate four-mile round-trip hike to Cinder Cone volcano. Numbered posts correspond to stops in an informative leaflet. Guides can be obtained at the trailhead in the Butte Lake day use parking area.

Public Ranger-led Programs

Your class is welcome to attend public ranger-led programs during their regularly scheduled times. Note that summer public ranger-led programs are generally offered last-June through early-September and winter programs are generally offered late-December through early-April. You may contact the education specialist at [phone] for information on public programs that meet specific curriculum. Ranger-led education programs must be scheduled in advanced.

Interpretive Waysides

Wayside exhibits that interpret park resources are found throughout the park including along the park highway, on the Lassen Peak trail, on the Bumpass Hell boardwalk, and along the Devastated Area trail.

Visitor Centers

The Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center (year-round) and Loomis Museum (summer only), offer park information, interpretive exhibits, and educational bookstores. The Discovery Center offers educational exhibits and a science lab and is open by reservation only.

 

Ranger-led Education Programs

Lassen Volcanic National Park serves public and private school groups in thirty-six California counties, grades Kindergarten through college. Our ranger-led education programs are designed to meet the individual needs of classes and CA State curriculum standards. All ranger-led programs are free of charge. The number of programs we can offer depends on park staffing and funding.

Reservations

Programs are very popular and dates fill quickly, so make reservations early. To make reservations, please contact the park education specialist, Robert Cromwell at 530-595-6132. All reservation programs are subject to availability of park staff. Reservations begin on the following dates:

• November 1 for January to April Snowshoe Programs
• February 1 for May to July programs
• June 1 for August and September programs

Program Selection

Title	Location	Months	Length	Max Group Size
Winter Ecology Snowshoe Program	Southwest Entrance	January - April	1.5 - 2 hrs	35
Winter Survival/ Snow Shelter Program	Southwest Entrance	January - April	2 hrs	35
Volcanoes of Lassen Demonstration	Various Sites	May - October	30-60 mins	-
Introduction to Lassen Volcanic NP	Various Sites	May - October	30 mins	-
Hydrothermal Features	Bumpass Hell Parking Area or Sulphur Works	July - October May - October	30-45 mins	-
Lassen Habitats: Intro to plant and animal communities	Various sites including Manzanita Lake, Lily Pond	May - October	Varies with class	-
Lassen Peak: Intro to its history and eruption sequence	Devastated Area and Lassen Peak Parking Area	May - October	20-30 mins	-