manzanita lake

Located just inside the northwest entrance of Lassen Volcanic National Park, Manzanita Lake is a beautiful alpine lake surrounded by an evergreen forest offering excellent views and reflections of Mt Lassen. In addition the views, the lake is a center of outdoor activity as the location of the park’s largest campground, picnic tables, a trail that loops around the lake, kayak rentals, swimming and even the opportunity fly fish for trout. Also nearby is the camper store where one can get picnic and other supplies, and the Loomis Museum which serves as a park visitor center and features displays on Mt. Lassen’s last eruption cycle. Even though the skies became mostly overcast shortly after our arrival, the lake and the surrounding area was still beautiful and fun.

Many national park campgrounds are reserved far in advance for the summer season. Lassen Volcanic National Park and the Manzanita Lake campground typically has spaces available with fun activities within walking distance of the campground. Interpretive programs are a "must see." The rangers are knowledgable, informative and friendly. There is a camp store in the event you forgot to bring something...or want a treat. If you would prefer not to camp in a tent, cabins are available for rent (although reservations are a must).

It is a beautifully quiet spot. If you are in the area, it is worth a hike or picnic break. One of many nice places in the park to stop.

This is a very easy trail, 1.5 miles RT with no elevation gain, . It is a great stroll around the lake and wildlife frequent this place in the morning since it is close to water. We went during late afternoon and the lake is calm but no reflection so the lake doesn’t appear as pretty. There were a few kayaks paddling and a few ducks wandering. We saw a sunset picture of the lake on the web but didn’t quite believe it can be that pretty. Anyhow, we went again during sunset since it is about a few hundred feets from our cabin. And the sunset was gorgeous and didn’t disappoint. If you don’t stay near this area, make a point to go at sunset.

Stayed here in August and had a great time. We tented for the night but the new cabins they have looked great for a return visit. Kayaking in the lake was peaceful and there were others fishing.

One of my goals on this trip into the mountains was to find a spot where I could get a good early morning or late afternoon shot of the mountains (Mt. Lassen in Particular but any other cooperative mountain would also do) with a lake in the foreground and the mountain reflected in the lake. My first idea was to get an early morning shot with either Emerald Lake or Lake Helen and Mt. Lassen reflected in the lake. I scouted the area on the prior day and determined that due to the terrain, Mt. Lassen could not be reflected in Emerald Lake but could be reflected in Lake Helen. So, up before dawn to drive into the park to get the shot. Bust! I knew the contrast between the sunlight mountain and shady lake would require the use of a graduated (split) Neutral Density Filter and perhaps special processing (HDR) but the killer was that the lake surface was not still as most lakes are at dawn – and thus no reflection. It seems that these lakes are right below a low spot in a ridge and there is almost always a breeze there – even at dawn.I rescued the morning by continuing on a bit and shooting sunrise near Kings creek and then a dead tree a bit past the summit of the road. I review these photo opportunities in my review titled “Seeing and Photographing Mt. Lassen National Park” in the “Mt. Lassen” attraction section of TripAdvisor. So, I still needed the mountain and lake shot. After striking out at dawn, I decided to go around to the Northwest corner of the park and see what I could find with Reflection Lake (after all the name sounded promising) or Lake Manzanita. I know from my map that from there I’d be looking at the North Western side of the mountain which would catch the afternoon light at an angle reducing the flatness of head on light. After scouting around a bit, I found that right behind the Northwest entrance station there are a couple of parking spaces right next to the NW corner of lake Manzanita and by walking a bit up the western flank of the lake I found 4 or 5 spots where I could set up my tripod and get both the mountain and the lake. Sometimes with a bit of foreground interest made up of foliage or a cooperative duck that swam by. As the near part of the lake was in shadow and the mountain/sky were still in sun, I used 4 to 6 stop graduated (split) neutral density filters to tame the contrast and get the brightness of the shady parts close to that of the sunny parts. I didn’t get a rich warm sunset so the light never got as golden as I had hoped, but I got some good shots. I kept moving from spot to spot to get different light from each spot. Sometimes I shot with Mt. Lassen in the Background and sometimes with Chaos Crags in the background.I suggest using a tripod and a split ND filter. I was shooting from wide angle to upper normal focal lengths - 35 to 75mm full frame equivilent (20 to 47mm on a typical consumer DSLR with an APS-C sensor like Canon Rebels)Also see my review called “Seeing and Photographing Mt. Lassen National Park” under “Mt. Lassen” and “Photographing Kings Creek Meadow” under the “Kings Creek Falls” attraction here in Trip Advisor.If you found this information useful in your decision making process, you gleaned information you may not have otherwise discovered, or you just enjoyed reading it and appreciate the time I put into writing it, please give me a "helpful" vote. You’re welcome to contact me through danhartfordphoto dot com (where you can see photos of my travels) or through the “Ask Caifdan69 about .........” button at the bottom of this review.

Surprisingly pleasant lake for multiple walks at different times of day and night, cool but good swimming and immediately adjacent to campground.

I wanted to camp after Labor Day and during the week instead of the weekend, figuring it would be less crowded..that part worked out well. However nowhere did I read that kayaks were only available to rent on Fri,Sat and Sun after Sept 1st. So..no kayaking for us..boo-hoo. Fortunately there are other was to amuse yourself at this spectacular park. Full moon camping was fantastic!

After viewing the Sulphur Works and Bumpass Hell, Manzanita Lake was a great stop for lunch. The Stellar Jays hoped we would drop a few crumbs. Picnic tables are available by the lake.

The camping was clean, quiet, beautiful and restful. Bonus - the camp store is the best we've seen...very well configured for rv & trailer campers

Manzanita Lake has really nice little cabins that you can rent if you don't want to camp. The museum and store as well as showers are all in close proximity.

Just spent three days camping at Manzanita Lake, in Loop "D" which is tent only camping. Arrive on a Sunday afternoon, or on a Monday early in the day, for the best choices of campsites. Our campsite was space #25, which backs up to the border of the wilderness area and is near a hiking trail. There were a few other tent campers nearby, all quiet, none using generators, etc.Each loop has flush toilets, sinks and outdoor water faucets for water.At the entrance to the campground, there is a nicely stocked store that carries both a good variety of foods, deli sandwiches, ice, beer, and items like sweatshirts, hats, and t-shirts.Adjacent to the store are showers ( great!), a laundromat, bathrooms, and also some cabins.Down the road from the store is the lake. There are kayak rentals, which are highly recommended. This is a fun lake for kayaking. The water was calm, fairly shallow in August, and there were ducks ( several wild varieties) as well as heron and osprey. At the banks of the lake closest to the campgrounds there are picnic tables. Very beautiful scenery; great views of Lassen from the Lake. Take the hike around the lake, it's very pleasant. The entry fee, and campsite charges are very reasonable. Highly recommend.

Its located very close to the entrance of Lassen Volcanic from the north end. The lake itself is not that great -- dirty, stagnant water. But the place is really good. Campgrounds (cabins) are present right at the lake and the ~1.5 mile trail around the lake is pretty relaxing. A better place for views as well as camping, though, is Summit Lake which is the middle of the Park. The campground is very good, though. Has all the amenities close by including restrooms, coin-operated showers, laundry (who washes the clothes on vacations, though?) and a general store which has quite a few things for sale/rent.

This will be your first stop after entering Lassen Volcanic NP from the north-west / Redding. We stopped at the park entrance and hiked around Manzanita Lake in less than one hour. Beautiful lake and surroundings and lot´s of cute chipmunks. Recommended!

This was the most crowded campground we stayed in during a two-week trip. The lake is very nice for fishing and swimming, and it has a very nice walking path around it. The camp store offers all of the amenities--including ice cream--but I thought the prices for food were pretty high. Showers are offered for a fee.