Lassen Volcanic National Park Highway in California is temporarily closed to traffic due to snow accumulation. Storm events are continuing to bring rain, snow, and ice to the high-elevation roadway.
The section of road between Sulphur Works and Summit Lake is closed.
The 30-mile Lassen Volcanic National Park Highway traverses avalanche-prone slopes with up to 2,000-foot drops and can hold a snowpack up to 40 feet deep. Last season the highway closed for the winter season on October 24th, 2021.
Road crews begin clearing snow from the park highway in March or April, depending on snow depth and weather forecasts. It is impossible to predict when the highway will be open to traffic because weather and other delays can significantly affect the clearing process. The chart below provides the opening and closing dates of the park highway since 1980. The park does not clear snow from Butte Lake, Warner Valley, or Juniper Lake Roads. The paved sections of Warner Valley and Juniper Lake Roads are maintained by Plumas County and are usually not plowed.
Snow clearing operations occur in the following order:
- Manzanita Lake Area between Loomis Plaza and Devastated Area (10 miles).
- Southwest Area between Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center and Lassen Peak (8 miles).
- Devastated Area to Lassen Peak (12 miles).
Lassen Volcanic National Park is in northeastern California. The dominant feature of the park is Lassen Peak, the largest plug dome volcano in the world and the southernmost volcano in the Cascade Range. Lassen Volcanic National Park is one of the few areas in the world where all four types of volcanoes can be found—plug dome, shield, cinder cone, and stratovolcano.
