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  5. Road trippin': Truckee to Lassen

Road trippin': Truckee to Lassen Volcanic

A back-roads journey to one of the state's national parks

Most people get to Lassen Volcanic National Park via Interstate 5, from the west. That's the fastest way. For those lucky, unhurried folk who while park-bound also would like to get acquainted with some of Northern California's remote mountain towns, CT News spotlights this alternative route.

Lassen Volcanic National Park

cs-00 Road Trippin': The route from Truckee to Lassen Volcanic National Park. (Source: Google Maps)
cs-01 Having exited off Interstate 80 in Truckee, motorists who are taking back roads to Lassen Volcanic National Park head up Highway 89.
cs-02 Quincy represents the largest town on this back-roads trip, and will take more than an hour to reach.
cs-03 One of the relatively new roundabouts that appear on Highway 89 as it heads north from Truckee features eye-catching artwork.
cs-04 Motorists pass by scenery both nature- and human-made as they make their way up toward Quincy and beyond.
cs-05 In the small town of Sierraville, Caltrans has one of its many Maintenance Division facilities.
cs--06 State Route 49 coincides with State Route 89 for a short stretch northwest of Sierraville.
cs--07 Don't expect a lot of traffic as you drive north on State Route 89 toward Quincy, especially if like CT News you are traveling on a nondescript weekday.
cs--08 Graeagle is a small but popular resort and mountain-activity town between Sierraville and Quincy.
cs-09 Wire-mesh fencing helps protect the roadway from rock slides along this stretch of Highway 89 south of Quincy.
cs-10 This pleasant, autumn view shouldn't escape the attention of Highway 89 motorists as they cross Greenhorn Creek.
cs-11 Quincy in normal years is the summertime host of music festivals that draw visitors from far and wide.
cs-12 North of Quincy, State Route 89 crosses Spanish Creek. Off to the east (right in the above photograph) is a tall railroad trestle.
cs-13 Here's a closer look at the trestle off to the east of Highway 89 at Spanish Creek.
cs-14 Spanish Creek flows alongside Highway 89 after that roadway splits off from Highway 70 south of Lake Almanor.
cs-15 Off State Route 147, which traces the eastern banks of Lake Almanor, motorists can pull off into a vista point that awards this view of Mount Lassen.
cs-16 Having passed by Lake Almanor via Highway 147, motorists have the option of taking Highway 36 west toward Chico or east toward Susanville.
cs-17 The back roads from Truckee to Lassen Volcanic National Park can include this stretch of Highway 36, not far from Westwood.
cs-18 Black-scarred trees that were hit be late-summer wildfires of 2020 can be seen off both sides of State Route 36 west of Susanville.
cs-19 Several miles before Susanville, motorists can turn left off Highway 36 and resume making their way to Lassen via State Route 44.
cs-20 Bogard Rest Area off Highway 44 gives motorists a place to stretch their legs as they drive toward Lassen Volcanic National Park.
cs-21 Forest and, past the roadway as it stretches westward, mountains constitute the mesmerizing scenery off Highway 44 in the North State.
cs-22 At the intersection of Highways 44 and 89, motorists can head north toward McArthur-Burney Falls State Park or southwest toward Lassen.
cs-23 A few miles east of the entrance to Lassen Volcanic National Park, there's a short nature trail and picnic area off the south side of Highway 89.
cs-24 As visitors enter Lassen Volcanic National Park from the north, off Highway 89, they encounter lovely Manzanita Lake.
cs-25 Looming past Manzanita Lake is Mount Lassen, which you can climb during the summertime, provided you time it right and have the hiking chops.