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My last trip to Lassen was back in 1999. I remembered how nice the Manzanita Lake
area seemed, so I had vowed to return sometime. It took me 8 years, but now I
was heading back.
We left the Bay Area around 10:15am on a Thursday morning. Traffic was light,
and we made good time up I-505 and then I-5. There are at least a couple different
ways to get to the Manzanita Lake area of Lassen from the Bay Area. The more
straightforward way is to drive to Redding, then head east on Highway 44 all the
way to the park. However, I decided to take a shorter route through Manton.
We took I-5 to Red Bluff, where we took Highway 36 east. After about 14 miles,
we turned left onto Manton Road (A6). While it's one lane in each direction,
you'll make good time on the road leading up to Manton. We then turned left
onto the road to Shingtown, and the going gets slower here as the road is very
winding and narrow, with no dividing line in one short stretch. It's really
not that bad, though, and it's all nicely paved. I think this alternate
route probably saves 10 minutes off the route through Redding, although I have
no way of knowing the exact difference. In any case, we then turned right onto
Highway 44. Unfortunately, there was road construction just before the park
entrance and we were delayed by about 10 minutes, but even so we arrived at
the park entrance after about 4 1/2 hours of driving from the Bay Area.
The hiking book I was using said that all the camps in Lassen were first-come,
first-served. However, things apparently have changed since then. I found
out earlier in the week that half the Manzanita Lake camps are reservable (and
all of them were taken),
and half are first-come, first-served. I had called the ranger to confirm
that we would probably be able to get a camping spot. She said that the camps
sometimes fill up, but almost never on a Thursday. Most likely they fill up
on holiday weekends. As it was, we didn't have much to worry about. Manzanita
Lake campground has 4 loops, A, B, C, and D, each with about 45 sites. Loops
A and C are reservable, and B and D are not. Check the National Park web site
for updated info, of course. Loop D also has the distinction of being for
tents only (no RVs). We found a nice site on the edge of loop D with only 2
neighboring camps. One of them remained empty, so we really only had one
neighbor the entire time we were there, and their tent was far away.
We set up camp and paid the camp fee, $18 per night. We then drove to the nearby
camper store to pick up firewood and some other supplies. There are also showers
and a washer/dryer for laundry here. It's all within walking distance, but it's
a bit of a stretch to walk with firewood, especially for the D loop, which is the
furthest away.
One of my disappointments is that the camp sites aren't within
sight of Manzanita Lake itself. However, there is a short trail that leads from
the camp to the lake. There's also an even shorter trail from the camper store.
We decided to check out the lake before we headed back to camp for dinner.
The short trail leads to the boat launch area of the lake. There were several
people in kayaks and fishing boats on the lake as we wandered along the shore.
There were also quite a few people along the shore, just hanging out or going
in for a swim. We would return to hike around the entire lake two nights later.
Manzanita Lake
We returned to camp to have dinner, then settled in to sleep. We were amazed
at how quiet it was. I'm not sure if it had to do with the fact that we were
in a tent-only area, or if it was because the sites are further apart than at
other campgrounds, but in any case we had no problems sleeping. It's amazing
how much more sleep you can get when you don't have people up late at night
drinking beer around the campfire, playing guitar until the wee hours of the
morning, or running their generators late at night to pump up their air beds.
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