Where is the best fall color at Lassen Volcanic National Park right now?

On Nov 10 the park is leaves down. The last band to peak was 5,000 to 6,000 feet, around Oct 13.

How long does peak last at Lassen Volcanic National Park?

About four days at the top, Oct 11 to 14, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the park's elevations the color moves over about 18 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 22 days.

Is Lassen Volcanic National Park past peak?

Yes. Peak was around Oct 12, and on Nov 10 it's leaves down.

Back to the map

National Park·California·107,423 acres

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Forecast issued Nov 10, 7:57am ET

Peak colorOct 12Aim for Oct 11 to 14

In the park today, Nov 10Leaves down

Higher ground turns first, so the slopes above the road lead the valley by a few days.

Weather Wind to 28 mph Friday. Color may come down before it turns.

Weather Hard frost Saturday night. Peak may come early and go fast.

No new reports from the ground here this week.

Still greenStartingNearly peakPeakPast peakNo fall canopy we forecastInside the line, each band of elevation is painted on its own date.

Around Lassen Volcanic National Park Shasta County holds most of the park and is leaves down today. Plumas County, to the southeast, is on the same day. Lassen County, to the east, is 10 days ahead.

When is peak fall foliage at Lassen Volcanic National Park in 2026?

Our forecast puts peak color at Lassen Volcanic National Park around Oct 12, and the four days to aim for are Oct 11 to 14.

The park runs from about 5,692 to 8,000 feet, and the color comes downhill over about 18 days: the high stands around Sep 25, the low ground around Oct 13.

Lassen Volcanic, fall color week by week, 2026
Week	In the park	Elevation at peak
Sep 7 to Sep 13	Still green
Sep 14 to Sep 20	Still green
Sep 21 to Sep 27	Starting to turn	8,000 to 9,000 ft
Sep 28 to Oct 4	Nearly peak	7,000 to 8,000 ft
Oct 5 to Oct 11	Peak color	6,000 to 7,000 ft
Oct 12 to Oct 18	Peak color	5,000 to 6,000 ft
Oct 19 to Oct 25	Just past peak

By elevation The park runs from about 5,692 to 8,000 feet. That’s 18 days of season between the top and the bottom: the high stands peak around Sep 25, the low ground holds until about Oct 13, and the color comes downhill in between. The date at the top of this page is the 5,000 to 6,000 foot band.

8,000–9,000 ftLeaves downpeak Sep 255%
7,000–8,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 224%
6,000–7,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 759%
5,000–6,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1313%

Height off 3DEP inside the park’s own boundary; each band carries the date our model gives that elevation, corrections and all. The percentage is how much of the park stands in it.

The place

Lassen Peak blew in 1915 and Congress made it a national park the following year while the ground was still warm. It remains the southern anchor of the Cascade Range and one of the most likely volcanoes in the chain to erupt again. The park holds all four types of volcanoes found on earth, plug dome, shield, cinder cone, and composite, plus bubbling mud pots and fumaroles that smell like the whole place is still making up its mind.

Established 1916. About 420,000/year visitors.

Plan this trip

If you can only come on certain days

Set the days you can be here. Everything under them answers for those days, not for peak.

ArrivingLeaving

Sunday, October 11 to Monday, October 12

You’ll find it just past peak up high, peak color lower down.

Up at 7,000 feet the stands peak around Oct 2; down at 6,000 feet they hold on until about Oct 13. Pick your elevation for the day you come.

7,000–8,000 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 2
6,000–7,000 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 7
5,000–6,000 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 13

What turns: black cottonwood, willow, bigleaf maple, red alder, red-osier dogwood
Entrance: $30

What turns, and when

black cottonwood30%
willow20%
bigleaf maple20%
red alder20%
red-osier dogwood10%

Also named across California, outside what the canopy read measures here: Quaking Aspen, Black Oak, Fremont Cottonwood, White Alder.

Eastern Sierra aspens turn brilliant gold against granite walls, black oaks in Yosemite Valley go bronze and russet, and cottonwoods line the desert creeks in pale yellow.

Questions people ask about Lassen Volcanic National Park

When is peak fall foliage at Lassen Volcanic National Park?: Our forecast puts peak color at Lassen Volcanic National Park around Oct 12, and the four days to aim for are Oct 11 to 14.
Where is the best fall color at Lassen Volcanic National Park right now?: On Nov 10 the park is leaves down. The last band to peak was 5,000 to 6,000 feet, around Oct 13.
How long does peak last at Lassen Volcanic National Park?: About four days at the top, Oct 11 to 14, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the park's elevations the color moves over about 18 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 22 days.
Is Lassen Volcanic National Park past peak?: Yes. Peak was around Oct 12, and on Nov 10 it's leaves down.
What trees turn color at Lassen Volcanic National Park?: Quaking Aspen, Black Oak, Bigleaf Maple, Fremont Cottonwood, White Alder. Eastern Sierra aspens turn brilliant gold against granite walls, black oaks in Yosemite Valley go bronze and russet, and cottonwoods line the desert creeks in pale yellow.
Is there an entrance fee at Lassen Volcanic National Park?: Entrance fee $30.

This forecast is built from the species that stand here, their elevation and this September’s weather, and corrected in season by cameras, foresters and our own crew. Out here we score it against NASA's satellite record of when the canopy shuts down, read inside each unit’s own boundary: two dates in three land within 12 days of it. How this map is made

All of California

Nearby, and when they turn

Plumas and Whiskeytown Shasta-Trinity and Shasta-Trinity and Modoc are on the map above, with their own date.

Tahoe National ForestCA · about 89 miles
Peak Nov 3 best Nov 2 to 5
Mendocino National ForestCA · about 97 miles
Peak Nov 2 best Nov 1 to 4