Lower Klamath Basin Trail

This is not an easy hike, but every step is more than worth it. Unlike Mount Thielsen to the north, this summit requires no scrambling/climbing; it's just a long, steep hike. Mount McLoughlin (named for John McLoughlin of Hudson's Bay Company and Oregon Trail fame) is a lava cone on top of a composite volcano, inactive for tens of thousands of years. Its slopes bear the marks of glaciation, and...

Start from the parking lot just past the entrance booth at the Lava Beds National Monument. It is a straight forward hike up to the top of the bluff about .75 miles. Great views of the lava flows and surrounding mountains. It is a great place to view the sunset behind Mt. Shasta from the top.

Hobart Bluff is part of the Western Cascades, a range of weathered volcanic mountains that are much older than the High Cascades that most people think of today, the range of Shasta, Rainier, and Hood. These mountains are shorter as a result of the work of time and usually have summits wrapped in forest, but not Hobart Bluff. Here, the igneous rock outcrop stands above the manzanita, void of tr...

From the entrance booth of Lava Beds National Monument drive south. There will be a left hand turn labeled Schonchin Butte, take it. Drive down a dirt road about a mile to reach Schonchin Butte trailhead parking. It is less than a mile hike to the fire lookout with elevation gain of 475 feet. The trail is well maintained and has great views of the lava beds at every step. This is a great place ...

Once you reach the Lava Beds National Monument stop by the visitors center to pay your fees, grab a map, and empty your bladder. From there you will drive your car up the road from the visitors center to Skull Cave.The visitors center will give you map and answer any questions you have. From the visitors center you will exit and take slight right turn and then a left at the stop sign. Skull Cav...

This adventure is only accessed through a ranger guided tour by the staff at Lava Beds National Monument.  A reservation is needed, go to recreation.gov to make a reservation space is limited.  You will meet at the visitor center.  The ranger will take you to the cave.  Don't try to find the cave on your own time, it is locked and you can't get in. Once in this unique lava tube cave you will ex...