Boiling Springs Lake is located off the same trail as Devil’s Kitchen in the eastern portion of Lassen Volcanic National Park. Leaving from the Warner Valley Trailhead, this trail is short but has optional excursions to Terminal Geyser and Devils Kitchen if you want to hike more miles. Even just going to Boiling Springs Lake is impressive though, and I really enjoyed my visit to this uniquely colored lake right along the Pacific Crest Trail. Here is all the information if you want to check it out.
Details
- 2 miles round trip
- 150 feet of elevation
- Must pay to enter the park or have a national parks pass
- Location: Warner Valley Trailhead
Getting There
Warner Valley is located about 45 to an hour from the park’s southern entrance. It is a long drive for just this trail, so I would only do the drive if you plan to go to Devils Kitchen or Terminal Geyser as well. The last few miles of the road (after you enter the park again) are dirt, but it was well maintained and easily passable with a two wheel drive car when I went. The parking lot has spots for about 15-20 cars, and it was only half busy on a weekday in the summer.
The Trail
The trail heads out from the west side of the parking lot, and it follows a creek with small waterfalls along the way.
After a tenth of a mile, there is an elevated wooden boardwalk that leads you through stunning meadows with lots of greenery and flowers. I saw a deer here on the way back, and I was blown away by how beautiful the meadow was.
The trail gently climbs in this section, crosses over the creek, and continues through the meadow.
At about the half mile mark, you will reach a junction with Boiling Springs Lake and Terminal Geyser heading left. I went to the Devil’s Kitchen first, which you can read about here and then went to Boiling Springs Lake after.
From the junction, the trail goes up on a few switchbacks and about a hundred or so feet of elevation gain.
It is mostly shaded though, which makes it pleasant, and it doesn’t take too long before there is another junction, and the trail flattens out.
The trail goes off to the right here, and it winds around through the trees until you get to the lake.
Boiling Springs Lake
The lake is quite impressive to see as it is a light teal/mud color in appearance, unlike any lakes I had seen before.
Along the edge, there is a reddish hue to the hills that surround it, which made for impressive photos.
All along the lake, there are little boiling mud pots and cracked dirt, which adds to the unique appearance.
You can walk around the lake and connect with the PCT if you want to take that back to the junction, or you can go back the way you came.
This is a great short hike in the area that I highly recommend. Again, I wouldn’t come out to this part of the park to just do this hike though. I would pair it with Devil’s Kitchen or Terminal Geyser, both of which are 5 miles round trip each. Let me know what you think in the comments.
