Which is a better place to vacation: Lassen Volcanic National Park, or Yellowstone National Park?
I'm trying to plan a family vacation but I can't decide which park we should go to. What do these parks have to offer? What could I do/see at one of these places but not the other? Do people who have been to both have a preference between the two?
Answers ( 2 )
Honestly neither Lassen nor Yellowstone would rank all that highly on my list of national parks for most visitors, and I've been to both numerous times.
Lassen is a phenomenal park for volcanic activity: visitors can see lots of extinct cones, bubbling mud pots, hot springs, and other geologic activity. The park is not that crowded being well away from California's major cities, and there is ample camping in the surrounding region. I do reccomend Drakesbad Ranch, reached via a separate road in the southeast corner of the park. It's been years since I was there, but the meals and hot spring pool were well worth the expense way back when. That said one can explore the park in a weekend.
Yellowstone is too well known. It's packed, and I'd only reccomend the park during the brief autumn weeks after the masses of tourists have left and the roads have not yet been closed due to snow. Yes, one is almost guaranteed to see bison, elk, and perhaps grizzlies, but all too often one is in a long line of cars trapped behind a lumbering RV, barely moving. Why drive days to be stuck in traffic just because it is a national park? If you want phenomenal backcountry Yellowstone has it, but so do far less crowded adjoining areas, such as the Wind River Range in Wyoming.
If you're looking for a family vacation in these two regions, separated by hundreds of miles, I'd advise considering the eastern side of the Californian Sierras instead for Lasssen and either Glacier National Park and northern Idaho or driving south to Colorado instead of Yellowstone. If your heart is set on Yellowstone, at least don't neglect the Grand Tetons on the park's southern boundary. The hiking there is fabulous, although often steep.
Route 395, on the eastern flank of the Sierras has loads of stuff for a family trip, from trout fishing to petroglyph sites, mountain biking, winter skiing, hikes galore and even paragliding. If you can do it outdoors you'll likely find guides, equipment rentals, and other services in the Owen's Valley. Prices tend to be reasonable by Californian standards, and elevation controls how high or cold one wants to be: you can bake among the Alabama Hills outside of Lone Pine or drive to 10,000' feet and soak your feet in ice cold streams within an hour. There are historical sites like Manzanar and local museums to check out as well, and a decent array of restaurants among the small towns strung out every twenty or so miles. Death Valley lies to the east and there are not one but two mountain ranges with 14,000' peaks in sight and easy access on side roads.
Instead of Yellowstone, especially during the summer when crowds peak, check out the less trammelled Glaicer National Park for the same charismatic megafauna and less traffic, or (my personal choice) head south to western Colorado for the peaks around Silverton, Ouray, and Telluride. Lots of 4x4 rentals, steep peaks and abandoned mining towns and ruins, free dispersed camping, hot springs, and places to eat well.
Call it the Goldilocks' test: Lassen is too small, with too few alternatives nearby, Yellowstone too crowded, espensive, and not easily accessed, while other alternatives may be just right for what you and your family want. Keep looking and best of luck!
Lassen is nice, but there's more variety at Yellowstone. For one thing, you can walk across the Fishing Bridge where Yellowstone Lake flows into the Yellowstone River and see huge cutthroat trout feeding on nymphs. You can't fish there, of course, but you can fish further downstream and try to fool the big trout with dry fies. I had better luck on the Firehole River beside the Old Faitful Inn, which is a magnificent wooden palace. The geyser is nice too. If you follow the Yellowstone River on downstream you'll get to see some spectacular bubbling hot springs and mineral deposits before you get to Yellowstone Falls and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Good wildlife too. Basically, why go for a dormant volcano when you can visit a dormant supervolcano?
On the other hand, if you want a quiet, peaceful park without too many obnoxious tourists, Lassen is sweet. IMNERHO.