Cinder Cone & Painted Dunes
Butte Lake, Lassen Volcanic NP · near Old Station · Shasta Cascade
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- strenuous
- Route type
- out-and-back
- Distance
- 4 miles
- Elevation gain
- 846 ft
- Time needed
- day
- Best season
- Late June–October · Lower/hotter than the park core; no shade
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- Yes
- How the permit works
- $30/vehicle Lassen NP entrance. Reached via ~6 mi of gravel off Hwy 44 at Butte Lake — a SEPARATE entrance, not the main park highway. Dogs prohibited.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 1 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Symmetrical black cinder volcano · Multicolored Painted Dunes · Fantastic Lava Beds · 360° double-crater summit
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- No
Hiking detail
- Intl tip
- Wear high closed boots and gaiters — the cinders pour into low shoes. Go early; there's zero shade and the black cinders radiate heat. Bring extra water.
The guide
The single most spectacular volcanic hike in the park — a symmetrical jet-black cinder cone rising straight out of a lava field…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Cinder Cone & Painted Dunes — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 40.5637, -121.3037