Lava Tubes at Lava Beds and Lassen

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This morning, we finished packing up and said goodbye to Crater Lake National Park. Crater Lake is so beautiful, but I think we were ready to see and do something new!

We drove back down to Fort Klamath and enjoyed some breakfast with Paul and Colleen. We planned on hitting the road at 9am and hoped to catch an outdoor train museum Paul was interested in. They were closed due to COVID19, so we set out to our next destination: Lassen.

On the drive through northern California, I spotted a sign for Lava Beds National Monument. We decided to go check it out. We entered the park from the east side, as that's where we saw the road sign. The way we entered was by the petroglyphs. We drove through the park and marveled at the fields of volcanic rock we passed. When we arrived at the visitor's center, I asked a ranger what they recommended we see if we're just passing through and have about half an hour. They would normally recommend some of the sites we passed on our drive, but we were exiting a different way. So, they recommended Mushpot.

From the visitor's center, there is a paved trail to Mushpot and a few other caves and sights. On the walk, we saw a lot of pumice stone and some volcanic glass. After a short walk, we came to Mushpot. Mushpot appears to be a cave but is actually a lava tube. Lava has flowed through it twice. It's wet inside, and has some small stalactites. It was super interesting to see. We didn't need our headlamps because the floor of the cave (excuse me, lava tube) had a dimly lit walkway.

We loved exploring Mushpot! If that was their backup recommendation, then I want to see the other caves and sights throughout the park!

After our walk through the lava tubes, we needed to get back on the road. At this point, we were separated from Paul and Colleen, as they opted not to join us at Lava Beds. We met up with them again a couple hours later at Subway Cave Lava Tubes. We had lunch with them in the camper, which was such a great thing for our trip and keeping social distance from others. After lunch, we changed our shoes. We didn't want to possibly introduce any fungus or pathogens into the cave. So, we changed our shoes and hiked to Subway Cave.

The lava tube here had two entrances/exits to get in. The National Park Service has set up stairwells on either end of the cave (lava tube), and there are plaques throughout that show you where you are on the map. That said, you must bring your own headlamps or flashlights to hike through these lava tubes. There are no added lights, and it gets very dark very quickly! Even with our lights, we ended up in Lucifer's cul-de-sac in the cave instead of the exit at one point! There are no real ways to get lost in the cave, but you won't be able to progress far without light.

Seeing the lava tubes is awesome! The kids were a little nervous that lava would flow through them again, but they were pretty brave nonetheless. They actually really liked the caves, and they ended up being one of the best parts of the trip.

The hike back to the camper and car from the other entrance of Subway Cave was surprisingly long. We seem to have come out on the other side of the road. We hadn't brought water and hadn't needed it as the walk to the entrance of the cave was short, and the cave itself was very cool. On the walk back, it was hot and dry. It didn't take too long, but I recommend bringing a water bottle with you!

After the lava tubes, we were ready to check into our motel near the southwest entrance of Lassen Volcanic National Park. To get there, we had to drive through the park, which was OK by us! Lassen Volcanic National Park is beautiful. We drove up and down some mountain roads (I may have freaked out about the drop offs a few times). The drive is worth it, though, and we were rewarded with some incredible views.

We stopped to view a few of the sights along the way. One of the best stops was Sulfur Works. It reminded me a lot of Yellowstone National Park. The rocks are a yellowish hue, and there are steam vents and mud pots (boiling mud) to see. The area also smells like Yellowstone because of the sulfur! We're excited to check out more of this national park tomorrow.

Below is a video of the mud pot at Sulfur Works, and, below that, there are photos of Subway Cave and our drive through Lassen Volcanic National Park.

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Photos

Mushpot
We walked through a lava tube called Mushpot at Lava Beds National Monument.

The Entrance to Subway Cave
Subway Cave Lava Tubes at Lassen National Forest (just outside Lassen Volcanic National Park)