If you think California is all beaches and palm trees, think again.
This road trip is all about lava, craters, and steaming earth that looks straight out of a sci-fi movie.
We’re talking ancient explosions, wild rock formations, boiling mud pits, and volcanoes that are still technically alive.
You’ll hike inside craters, see glowing black lava fields, and even drive over massive underground magma chambers, all without leaving the state.
So fill up the tank and get ready to explore California’s coolest volcanic spots.
Trust me, this road trip is gonna rock.
1. Mount Shasta
Mount Shasta is a massive 14,179ft stratovolcano in Northern California, about an hour south of the Oregon border.
It’s the second-highest volcano in the Cascades range after Mount Rainier.
It’s been dormant since its last eruption approximately 3,200 years ago, but it’s still considered an active volcano with occasional steam vents near the summit reminding you this giant isn’t sleeping forever.
People come here to hike trails like the 1.4-mile round-trip Panther Meadow Trail, check out the weirdly cool Black Butte lava dome, and soak in the views of glaciers clinging to the summit.
2. Medicine Lake
Just east of Mount Shasta, Medicine Lake sits inside the largest volcano by volume in all of the Cascades, it’s even bigger than Shasta itself, just way more low-key.
Instead of one big peak, this volcano spreads out over 770 square miles with weird and wild lava flows, underground lava tubes like the ones at nearby Lava Beds National Monument, and old craters you can hike around.
The lake itself is nearly 600 acres and perfect for kayaking, fishing, or just floating while you realize you’re literally chilling on top of a giant volcanic monster.
3. Lassen Peak
About 2 hours 45 minutes from Medicine Lake, Lassen Peak is the fiery star of Lassen Volcanic National Park and holds the title of the southernmost active volcano in the Cascades.
It famously blew its top in 1915, launching ash 30,000 feet into the sky and leaving behind steaming fumaroles, bubbling mud pots, and colorful hot springs you can still see at spots like Bumpass Hell.
The hike to the summit is a steep 5-mile round trip with 2,000 feet of elevation gain, but the views from the top are totally worth the climb.
4. Mono–Inyo Craters
South of Lassen, things get wild and weird at the Mono–Inyo Craters, a 25-mile chain of lava domes, craters, and explosion pits stretching from Mono Lake to Mammoth Mountain.
This volcanic zone is still young and restless as the last eruption was just 600 years ago.
You can actually walk through jagged obsidian flows at places like Panum Crater which is one of the best spots to see fresh volcanic rock up close.
It’s like a geology playground with crazy textures, glassy black rock, and views of Mono Lake’s otherworldly tufa towers just a few minutes down the road.
5. Mammoth Mountain
Right next to the Mono–Inyo Craters, Mammoth Mountain is a lava-dome complex that formed about 57,000 years ago.
Its most recent eruption occurred around 700 years ago, but don’t let that date fool you, this mountain is still very much alive.
It’s part of the Long Valley Caldera, one of the largest supervolcanoes on the planet, and the area has frequent earthquake swarms and carbon dioxide vents that can actually destroy trees (check out the Deadman Pass area—it’s spooky and real).
In the winter it’s all about skiing, but come summer, you can ride the gondola to the 11,053-foot summit for panoramic views of ancient lava flows, crater lakes, and the vast Long Valley Caldera stretching out below.
6. Ubehebe Crater
Way down in Death Valley, Ubehebe Crater is a 600-foot-deep volcanic blast zone that looks like someone dropped a meteor but nope, this bad boy blew itself open about 2,000 years ago.
It’s a maar volcano, which means it formed when magma hit groundwater and exploded, leaving behind a black-rimmed crater you can hike into or around (the full loop is about 1.5 miles).
The wind up here is no joke, but the views into the colorful layers of ash and cinders are totally worth getting sandblasted for.
7. Amboy Crater
From the eerie depths of Ubehebe, head south to the Mojave Desert for a look at Amboy Crater, a perfect little cinder cone that last erupted about 10,000 years ago.
It rises 250 feet above a flat lava field right off old Route 66, and you can hike the 4-mile round trip trail through crunchy black lava to stand right on the crater’s rim.
It’s hot, dry, and wildly quiet out here but standing on top of this symmetrical volcano with nothing but desert all around feels like being on another planet.
Related Posts
