Every Trail Tells a Story
Devil’s Kitchen & Boiling Springs Lake
Hike to both Devil’s Kitchen and Boiling Springs Lake in one outing.
Fewer crowds than Bumpass Hell, but all the hydrothermal drama.
Lush meadows + volcanic chaos: A rare combo of serene wildflowers and hissing earth.
If Bumpass Hell is Lassen’s headline act, then Warner Valley is the underground club where the real show happens. Tucked in the park’s remote southeast corner, far from Highway 89’s bustle, you’ll find two of Lassen’s strangest and most rewarding hydrothermal wonders: Devil’s Kitchen & Boiling Springs Lake. They may require a longer, bumpier drive to reach, but that effort buys you fewer crowds, more solitude, and the eerie thrill of walking across a landscape that seems alive underfoot.
Devil’s Kitchen is no misnomer. Here the ground seethes and hisses, the earth spits and bubbles, and the air smells of sulfur-like some subterranean cook whipping up a cauldron of stew. A loop trail leads safely among steaming vents, gray mudpots, and the boiling banks of Hot Springs Creek. Compared to Bumpass Hell, the basin feels smaller, more intimate, more like you’ve stumbled into the park’s private backstage.
Nearby lies Boiling Springs Lake, one of the largest hot-water lakes in the world. Its odd yellow-green color, pungent sulfur scent, and perpetual steaming surface make it as unsettling as it is mesmerizing. Even on a warm July day, mist curls across the lake like a ghost rising from the forest. The water never cools below 125°F, and hydrogen sulfide vents bubble ceaselessly at the shoreline.
Warner Valley itself is worth the trip. Meadows lush with corn lilies and wildflowers give way to lodgepole and fir forest, while Hot Springs Creek winds through it all. A human history lingers here, too-most famously at Drakesbad Guest Ranch, once a 19th-century hot springs spa and now a rustic lodge run under the National Park System. Guests still soak in hot pools (sorry, day hikers, not open to you), but all are welcome to wander the valley trails.
Taken together, Devil’s Kitchen and Boiling Springs Lake show Lassen at its most eclectic: meadows, forests, history, and hydrothermal fireworks. A half-day here feels like you’ve visited two different worlds.
From Highway 36 in Chester, turn north on Warner Valley Road. Drive 16 miles (the final stretch on narrow paved and gravel road) to Warner Valley Campground, then continue another 0.5 mile to the trailhead near Drakesbad.
From the trailhead, follow the Pacific Crest Trail south, quickly crossing Hot Springs Creek and passing a shady picnic area. At a three-way junction, go straight toward Devil’s Kitchen. Cross the creek again and enter Drakesbad Meadow, a lush carpet bright with corn lilies in summer. The trail then climbs into fir forest before dropping into the basin itself.
Here the world changes. A stark amphitheater bubbles and hisses, with fumaroles jetting steam and mudpots blurping like witches’ brew. A loop path and boardwalks connect the features, letting you circle the “kitchen” safely while the ground steams beneath your boots. After exploring, retrace your steps to the junction.
To visit Boiling Springs Lake, take the left-forking trail. This nature path climbs gently through lodgepole and fir, with interpretive signs pointing out local plants and volcanic soils. After about a mile, the forest parts to reveal the steaming shoreline of the lake. Iron and sulfur lend the waters a surreal yellow-brown hue, and vents bubble constantly at the edges. A path circles parts of the shoreline, giving shifting perspectives of this hot, haunted-looking pool.
Return the same way or combine both destinations for a satisfying half-day loop back to Warner Valley.