California · Hiking

Reflection Lake

Reflection LakePhoto: NPS/Amanda Sweeney
0.6 mi
loop
5,897 ft
high point
Loop
route
Easy
difficulty
May–Oct
best months

Caution at last check

Weather is marginal · OpenWeather · checked 12 h ago

Is Reflection Lake open right now?

Closure in the area

There's a closure order in Lassen Volcanic National Park. It doesn't name Reflection Lake, so check the source for the area it covers.

  • Lassen National Park Highway Temporarily Closed

    Park closure covering Lassen Volcanic National Park · NPS · Lassen Volcanic National Park

As of · Source: NPS · Lassen Volcanic National Park. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.

Reflection Lake wasn't always named such. In the late 1800s, the lake was lower in level and more indicative of a pond and was aptly named, Mud Lake. To attract more people to the area, a channel was dug to divert water from Manzanita Creek into Mud Lake. Trout were planted in the lake with an increased water level. For a few years, people paid the landowner to fish in the lake. Eventually, trout planting ceased. In 1926, park benefactor Benjamin Franklin Loomis purchased 40 acres, which included the lake. Reflection Lake was one location that Loomis captured photographs of the 1914-1945 Lassen Peak eruptions. Loomis and his wife Estella donated their 40 acres, the Loomis Museum, and the adjacent seismograph building to the park in 1929. A healthy population of native tui chub fish thrive in the warmer water. Fish stocking ended completely in the park in the early 1990s to preserve natural riparian ecosystems. As a result, the lake attracts water birds such as Canada geese, great blue heron, snowy egret, and kingfisher. Reflection Lake Route A half-mile route (not a defined trail) circles the lake and is a shorter alternative to the 1.8-mile Manzanita Lake Loop. The western shore offers unobstructed views of Chaos Crags and Lassen Peak, which are often reflected in the still lake. The route overlaps with the half-mile Lily Pond Interpretive Trail on the eastern shore of Reflection Lake.

  • Best time to go · May–Oct

    Best time to visit Reflection Lake

    Best months: May–October. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.

    1. Jan

      41° / 22°

    2. Feb

      42° / 22°

    3. Mar

      46° / 24°

    4. Apr

      50° / 27°

    5. May

      61° / 35°

    6. Jun

      70° / 41°

    7. Jul

      79° / 46°

    8. Aug

      78° / 45°

    9. Sep

      72° / 41°

    10. Oct

      59° / 33°

    11. Nov

      47° / 26°

    12. Dec

      39° / 22°

    Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Manzanita Lake, CA, 0.6 mi away at 5,750 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Keep exploring — more trails worth the drive

HIKE

Manzanita Lake Day Use Area

Next door

The Manzanita Lake boat launch, trailhead, and picnic area are located on the southeast shore of Manzanita Lake. Get here by following the Manzanita Lake Campground Road off of Lassen Volcanic National Park Highway in the Manzanita Lake Area. Boat Launch At the south end of…

Manzanita Lake TrailPhoto: simonov, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)

Manzanita Lake Trail

Next door

1.27-mile loop trail in California with 272 ft gain and 256 ft loss.

NORTH BATTLE CREEKPhoto: Brück & Sohn Kunstverlag Meißen, CC0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

NORTH BATTLE CREEK

~8 min drive

6.44-mile out-and-back trail in California with 1,180 ft elevation gain and loss.

Bear Lakes TrailPhoto: inkknife_2000 (7.5 million views +), CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Bear Lakes Trail

~15 min drive

10.3-mile out-and-back hike in California with 1,675 ft elevation gain

HIKE

BIG LAKE

~7 min drive

16.16-mile out-and-back trail in California with 2,520 ft elevation gain

HIKE

Sunflower Flat

~4 min drive

A commemorative plaque marks the Nobles Emigrant Trail which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. Twenty-four miles of the 300-mile-long wagon route skirt through the northern edge of the park. Most of the original route in the park remains intact…

HIKE

Devastated Area

~9 min drive

Discover the story behind Lassen Peak's 1915-1916 eruption. Waysides along the half-mile accessible loop describe how the eastern slope of Lassen Peak came to be known as the Devastated Area. More than a hundred years later, forests cover much of this once barren area.…

HIKE

Lassen Peak Scenic Vista

~9 min drive

Lassen Peak is a monument to the area’s natural history and humankind’s adventurous spirit. At 10,457 feet high, it’s one of the world’s largest plug dome volcanoes. Its 1914-1917 eruptions were a driving force behind the establishment of Lassen Volcanic National Park. The…

HIKE

Nobles Emigrant Trail

~4 min drive

8.28-mile out-and-back hike in California with 1,792 ft elevation gain and loss.

HIKE

Brokeoff Volcano Vista

~10 min drive

This small parking area is perched above Little Hot Springs Valley in the shadow of Lassen Peak. Parking is limited and fills quickly in the summer due to the popularity of the Bumpass Hell Trail. The trailhead is located at the northeast end of the parking area, near the…