Lassen National Forest Hiking With its varied terrain, dozens of lakes, scenic vistas and over 460 miles of trails to explore, the Lassen National Forest is a hiker's, backpacker's and equestrian's paradise. Some of the best hiking trails are in the wilderness areas. The Ishi is in the foothills canyon country.
Trails generally follow the streams, which cut east-west.
So the best time to go is late fall and spring. Once the summer oven gets turned on, head for the higher elevation Caribou Wilderness and Thousand Lakes Wilderness . Caribou is high forested plateau nestled against Lassen Volcanic National Park , and some of its trails provide access to the park. Thousand Islands includes 8,677 foot Crater Peak, and as the name suggests, has seven major lakes and many, many smaller ones. The Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail extends 2,600 miles from Mexico to Canada, and roughly 120 miles of it passes through the Lassen National Forest on a roughly north-south axis.