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After hiking the "heart-pumping" final 200 feet to the top of 750-feet tall Cinder Cone, you'll be greeted with a view of Cinder Cone's double-rimmed crater. Turn to face away from the crater view and you'll be rewarded with vistas including Lassen Peak, Painted Dunes, Snag Lake, Butte Lake, and the Fantastic Lava Beds.
Chaos Crags is a series of six, steep-sided dome volcanoes. That "jumble" of angular rock you see piled up all over the place is called, interestingly enough, the Jumbles, created from an avalanche off Chaos Crags that occurred 350 years ago. This huge avalanche occurred from three rock sloughings in rapid succession off of the northwestern face of Chaos Crags. In addition to leaving the sharp rocks through which the park road slices, the avalanche dammed Manzanita Creek to create Manzanita Lake.
Many national parks have a "painted" something. Petrified Forest National Park has its Painted Desert, and John Day Fossil Beds National Monument has its Painted Hills. Lassen Volcanic National Park has the Painted Dunes, which should be seen from the top of the Cinder Cone Trail for full effect. Created from pumice and ash that fell upon hot lava to oxidize into these eye-grabbing colors, the Painted Dunes are just part of an amazing vista that greets the intrepid hiker after a final 200-feet workout over loose volcanic gravel to reach the end of the trail at the top.
"Hike to the base or summit of the dramatic Cinder Cone volcano via this popular trail in the Butte Lake Area. The sand-like cinders on this trail make the hike challenging, especially when climbing the steep 200-foot ascent to the summit. However, hikers are afforded with fantastic views of the dramatic cinder cone, its lava flow called the Fantastic Lava Beds, and the colorful Painted Dunes. At 1.2 miles, the trail reaches a fork at the base of Cinder Cone. Look to your left (south) here for the first views of the colorful Painted Dunes.
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Here’s the definitive guide to National Park System campgrounds where RVers can park their rigs.
Our app is packed with RVing- specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 national parks.
You’ll also find stories about RVing in the parks, tips helpful if you’ve just recently become an RVer, and useful planning suggestions.
