1 m away
Boiling Springs Lake and Terminal Geyser
Hike along a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail to find a warm creek, a hot lake, and a steaming vent in a lesser-traveled corner of Lassen.
Moderate Hiking
- Distance
- 9.1 km
- Ascent
- 325 m
- Descent
- 326 m
Witness a highly active hydrothermal area in Lassen's peaceful Warner Valley.
Hiking Moderate
Like the much more popular Bumpass Hell, Devils Kitchen is a collection of various hydrothermal features in Lassen Volcanic National Park. Unlike its well-known counterpart, however, Devils Kitchen is in the relatively quiet Warner Valley, an area of the park that receives many fewer visitors. If you’d rather skip Bumpass Hell and avoid the busy-season traffic, you could instead see many of the same features at Devils Kitchen.
From the Warner Valley trailhead, you’ll cross verdant wet meadows on a trail and boardwalks. A bit of steam and a slight smell of sulfur rise from Hot Springs Creek, which is crossed on a bridge. This is merely a preview of the hydrothermal activity still to come. The trail turns uphill and into a fragrant conifer forest. The creek tumbles nearby, and you may step across a few small streams as the trail leads higher into the valley.
You’ll likely smell it before you see it––the sulfurous steam of Devils Kitchen. The trail drops sharply into a valley within the valley, where the air lies thick with pungent humidity. Forest crowns the rim of this basin, but within it are slopes of bare, pale earth and puddles of fuming liquid. The Park Service describes “crackled yellow and red mounds of the kitchen where steam whirls from fiery cracks in the ground, sounds of plopping, hissing, and belching fill your ears and the smell of ‘something’ cooking lingers in the air.”
This is an otherworldly place that you must explore with your own senses. A short loop trail leads among the features, so you can see them up close. After walking the loop, you can return the way you came to the trailhead. Another option, however, is to backtrack some of the way then connect with the trail to Dream Lake, for a bonus destination.
Sources: https://www.nps.gov/lavo/planyourvisit/hikingdevilskitchen.htm https://sierranevadageotourism.org/entries/devils-kitchen-lassen-volcanic-national-park/5936d387-c600-4b11-a334-44f18f1ffdf3
Moderate
Hiking along trails with some uneven terrain and small hills. Small rocks and roots may be present.
1 m away
Hike along a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail to find a warm creek, a hot lake, and a steaming vent in a lesser-traveled corner of Lassen.
Moderate Hiking
235 m away
Miles 1350.1-1377.4 of the northbound PCT: Continuing through Lassen National Park, past backcountry lakes and views of volcanic peaks.
Moderate Hiking
5.6 km away
Ultra-popular hike to a cascading creek and waterfall in a verdant gorge.
Difficult Hiking
6.1 km away
An extended stroll through Lassen’s backcountry interior, packed with pristine lakes in subalpine forest.
Moderate Hiking
7.9 km away
Three exquisite alpine lakes, linked by a path through sunny and colorful woodland.
Moderate Hiking
9.9 km away
The must-do hike to the summit of the park's namesake mountain.
Difficult Hiking
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