Baum & Crystal Lakes
Cassel / Hat Creek · near Cassel · Shasta Cascade
Kayaking & SUP
At a glance
- Best season
- Paddleable year-round; best April-October (spring-fed, cold & clear all year)
What is here
- Wildlife
- Trout visible below the hull, ospreys, waterfowl, herons
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Kayaking & SUP detail
- Nickname
- Spring-Clear Flatwater
- Water types
- alpine-lake
- Exposure
- sheltered
- Sup friendly
- Yes
- Wetsuit
- Cold spring water year-round - a spring suit is wise
- Intl tip
- Bring your own boat (no rentals) and share the water gracefully with fly anglers - this is a famous wild-trout fishery. The spring water is cold and clear year-round; a canoe or sit-inside kayak suits the calm conditions best.
The guide
Fed by huge cold springs on the Hat Creek system, Baum and Crystal are gin-clear connected lakes where you drift past volcanic …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Baum & Crystal Lakes — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 40.954, -121.554