Winter and Spring are harsh at Lassen Volcanic. When we originally planned our year-long trip to all of the national parks, we did our best to avoid the massive snow packs that limit accessibility to the parks. Sometimes, though, this was unavoidable.

We found out that when the park is covered in snow, it is possible to park overnight at the visitor center and camp in the snow just adjacent to the lot. Since the park is not the quickest to drive to, we decided this was a good option.

We ended up just setting up our small air mattress in the back of our car, but several others were camping on the snow nearby. Use of the visitor center is possible during your stay, including 24-hour access to the vestibule with great indoor restrooms.

During our time in Lassen Volcanic, we learned about the park at the visitor center, hiked as far as we could in the snow along the road, and enjoyed a ranger-led snowshoe tour.

You can read much more about our five days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (Lassen Volcanic)