Lassen National Park and Lake Tahoe area travels starting next weekend.

Hi Jules,

You can check on the status at Larsen Park at this link: https://www.nps.gov/lavo/learn/management/current-fire-acitivity.htm. Right now you can see the Redding fires, but the park is not impact. In Tahoe, they are reporting air quality issues. Again, would check during the week with your campgrounds any impact on camping and/or air quality due to the fire.

Sandy

The air quality has been ranging in the "unhealthy for sensitive groups" and "unhealthy." I know people are still doing outdoor activities depending on how they think they will fare; I have friends backpacking/hiking a section of the Tahoe Rim Trail right now. Check out AirNow.gov for updates on air quality.

I really appreciate the updates! I'm trying to figure out what to do with this trip. We have been taking camping trips with our kids to National parks for 18 years or so now. Our youngest are 21 and we feel like we might not have more opportunities for these family trips, and the girls were really looking forward to it. I've been searching for other options. Obviously, it's good to put things in perspective. For us its just a trip, for the firefighters and people that live near all these fires, it is very serious. I really appreciate the updates. Our plan is that on Friday, we are going somewhere, just not quite so sure where that will be.

I live in Plumas County, south of Lassen County. It is pretty smoky here but not hard to breathe. There is also a fire in eastern Lassen Country, the Whaleback Fire. It will be smoky at Lake Tahoe but you should still have a good time! If you choose not to go to Lassen NP, I suggest you visit Mammoth Lakes and June Lake Loop in Mono County, Eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. The June Lake Loop has four lakes and is beautiful and a favorite place of ours. Sit on the front porch of the Silver Lake Resort(on the June Lake Loop) enjoy the view of the Lake and Carson Peak and you will think you are in a National Park! You could even use Mammoth Lakes as a Base and take day trips. They have a lot of vacation rentals there(Mammoth Lakes)! Nearby is Devils Postpile NM, Bodie State Historic Park and Mono Lake. It will be hot, but nights are cool. Bodie is the best ghost town in the world!! There are also pack stations where you can go for a day ride on horses or Mules. I would recommend McGee Creek Pack Station. Another beautiful spot is Rock Creek Canyon, between Bishop and Mammoth Lakes. You can drive to a trailhead at Mosquito Flats, 10,000ft in elevation. From there you can day hike into Little Lakes Valley! There are several campgrounds in the Rock Creek Canyon, but this is their busiest time of year! It is cooler up in the east side canyons. You also have easy access to the eastern side of Yosemite NP! Lone Pine has an excellent Film Museum about all the movies filmed in the nearby Alabama Hills! Enjoy!

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply @melloeadobe. Are there campgrounds in the area you are describing in the east Sierras?

There are lots of campgrounds! Look at Inyo National Forest website. Some of the campgrounds are on reservations and some are first come first serve. If you are an Auto Club member there is and excellent map that is a Guide to the Eastern Sierra. Only problem is this is a very busy time of the year for that area! In the Rock Creek Canyon there are two small campgrounds not on reservation, Iris Meadow and Big Meadow. In Mammoth Lakes there are several public campgrounds. There is an interagency visitor center in Lone Pine, stop there for help and info and there is a great view of Mt Whitney from their location! Also another Visitor Center in Mammoth Lakes and another at Mono Lake overlook. This is bear country!! Most of the campsites have bear boxes to put food and ice chests in! You cannot drive to Devils Postpile NM, but they have a shuttle bus from the Mammoth Lakes ski lodge area. Another interesting place is the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest at the summit of the White Mountains. You can drive there from Big Pine. They are the oldest trees in the world and the summit is about 10,000 feet! If you can’t find a campsite lodging in the summer is not bad in Mammoth Lakes because they have a lot of ski condo rentals. Everyone of the east side canyons of the Sierra Nevada have public campgrounds, just their busy season now! Finding a campsite that is not reservable is easier around noon on a Sunday. McGee Creek Canyon has a campground too but it can get windy there. Not sure if the whole campground is on reservations. They may have some tent sites that are not on reservations. June Lake Loop has several campgrounds, but once again their busy season! We like Oh Ridge! Campground at June Lake. Good luck!

hey jules
don't know if you're still coming to the tahoe area, you can check out topaz lake, KOA coleville/walker or meadowcliff resort south of reno, or further south is mammoth. nice park is durango rv park in red bluff. i would call and ask about the area. look up americanriverresort.com, santacruzredwoodsrvpark.com are you camping in a tent or rv? it is late and because of fires and the hot hot hot heat, campsites closed, hard to find places. it is smoky in the bay area but it's worse further north. lots of places want you to fill out booking form, try and call and see what's available. hope you find something.
was curious if you took your trip the the basque region yet? happy and safe travels
aloha

While I love highway 395 from Reno South, between Lassen and Tahoe highway 70 is much more scenic and rural. Most of the suggestions already posted are for the south of Tahoe, and not where you're talking about going.

Travel on 395 north of Reno is along the east side of the Sierras and high desert. 70 Goes up into the mountains and you'll find a number of interesting hikes and small towns on that route. If you want to camp and hike it's definitely the way to go if you want scenery.