Sierra Nevada Adventures Multi Day Rides

LASSEN VOLCANIC ADVENTURE RIDE 3-Days

Lassen Volcanic ADVENTURE ride EXPLORES an astonishing OFF-ROAD route and on-road route through an awe-inspiring volcanic landscape sculpted by fire and ice on an amazing three-day ADVENTURE!

Your amazing journey begins by exploring the northern gold country on historic dirt wagon routes, and exciting canyon roads to historic ghost towns including some of the richest hydraulic mining sites in the Lost Sierra region. Your off-road adventure explores remote dirt wagon routes once traveled by pioneers and prospectors in search of gold during the early days of the California Gold Rush. You will have the opportunity to visit historic ghost towns such as North Bloomfield, Forest City, and Alleghany while exploring all three forks of the wild and scenic Yuba River Canyons throughout the Lost Sierra.   

Beyond the Yuba River Canyons, your journey travels past the jagged Sierra Buttes and on to the historic mining town of Johnsville for more off-road adventure. The small gold rush town of Johnsville, set along Jamison Creek at 5,180 feet elevation in the shadow of Eureka Peak, is known for two things: mining and skiing. Some of the earliest discoveries of gold in California occurred in Johnsville, named after William Johns in 1876, a brilliant manager of the Eureka Mine who made the operation incredibly efficient and profitable for its London-based Sierra Buttes Mining Company investors, who also owned the successful Sierra Buttes Mine in Sierra City. Eureka Peak was originally known as Gold Mountain, aptly named considering the tens of millions of dollars in gold the mountain produced in the 1800s. Sixty-two miles of mining tunnels were cut into the mountain that produced large amounts of gold. Once extracted from the tunnels, the rich ore was sent downhill on cable tramways and ore buckets to the enormous Mohawk Stamp Mill, built in 1876, a 60-stamp mill site that still stands today at the Plumas-Eureka State Park. The state park museum building, originally built as the miner bunkhouse, is a fascinating stroll through history, documenting the stories of these industrious pioneers who also played a pivotal role in creating the sport of downhill ski racing. In the 1850s the mountains between Johnsville and La Porte were completely stripped of all trees in order to build dozens of mining camps and support hundreds of miles of tunnels for mining operations. In the wintertime, miners were snowbound, sometimes 30 feet deep, and needed an activity to keep them sane. In 1853 Charles Nelson, a Norwegian-born pioneer, introduced local miners to Longboard skis, originally used in the Telemark region of Norway to help residents get around in the winter. But the miners had something more exhilarating in mind, staring up at the towering, denuded slopes of Gold Mountain; they were going to race each other straight down the mountain to see who could go the fastest. This crazy idea became the birth of downhill ski racing. At the time, some of the fastest humans on the planet were Longboard racers in the Lost Sierra, clocking astonishing speeds of up to 90 miles-an-hour, running 12-second quarter-mile straight line downhills on their “snowshoes”. What enabled them to reach these unbelievable speeds was what they called “dope”, or wax, the recipes of which were more valuable than gold itself, as prize winnings could be as much as $1,000 (a lot of money in the 1860s). Champion Longboard racers were nothing without their “dope man”, master mixologists who understood changing snow conditions and what kinds of ingredients to melt down for the fastest dope. In addition to being the birthplace of downhill ski racing, local legend also has it that Eureka Peak may have been the site of the very first ski lift in the world, with miners loading themselves into the ore buckets attached to a tram cable, getting a ride to the top. After exploring the Johnsville mining region, your journey eventually arrives at the small town of Chester which is located on the shores of Lake Almanor in the shadow of Lassen Peak. This sleepy community sits along the banks of the Feather River and Lake Almanor which is surrounded by breathtaking meadows, forests, and streams. Chester and the Lake Almanor Basin offer an array of diverse outdoor activities to enjoy for those who seek adventure!

Day two of your journey begins by exploring the scenic Lassen Volcanic National Park which is a bizarre and incredible landscape in northeastern California. The dominant feature of the park is Lassen Peak, the largest plug dome in the world and the southernmost volcano in the Cascade Range. Lassen Volcanic National Park is one of the few areas in the world where all four types of volcanos can be found such as a shield volcano (Prospect Peak), plug dome (Lassen Peak), Cinder Cone (Cinder Cone), and Composite (Brokeoff Volcano) volcanoes.

Your journey travels up a scenic curvy mountain road past the colorful volcanic rock that contrasts with alpine forest, cascading creeks, steaming fumaroles, bubbling mud pots, meadows dotted with wildflowers, clear mountain lakes, and numerous volcanoes. Jagged peaks tell the story of Lassen Park's eruptive past while fiery hot springs, winter snow, and ice continue to shape this volcanic land. During summer you can explore the backcountry, a true wilderness with a treasure trove of hydrothermal activity and geological wonders including pristine alpine lakes, cascading waterfalls, and alpine peaks. Lassen Park is at the crossroads of three unique biological areas: the Cascade Mountains, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and the Great Basin. There are several areas in the park to view boiling springs, belching mud pots, and hissing steam vents as your journey explores this amazing wonderland.

Your off-road adventure begins a short distance beyond Lassen Volcanic National Park as you veer off the tarmac and explore into the wild on a maze of remote dirt roads through Lassen National Forest. Your off-road adventure travels through miles of deep forests before eventually breaking above the tree line to a remote fire lookout tower that provides an amazing view of Mt Lassen. Beyond the fire lookout tower, your off-road adventure continues through deep forest and past pristine meadows for several miles before reaching another fire lookout tower that provides a panoramic view of Lake Almanor. Your journey eventually makes its way out of the woods and back to the town of Chester for your second night before your third-day adventure!

Lassen Peak, commonly referred to as Mount Lassen, is a lava dome volcano and the southernmost active volcano in the Cascade Range of the Western United States Located in the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California, it is part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, which stretches from southwestern British Columbia to northern California. Lassen Peak reaches an elevation of 10,457 ft. standing above the northern Sacramento Valley. It supports many floras and fauna among its diverse habitats, which are subject to frequent snowfall and reach high elevations. Lassen Peak has a volume of 0.6 cubic miles making it one of the largest lava domes on Earth. The volcano arose from the former northern flank of now-eroded Mount Tehama about 27,000 years ago, from a series of eruptions over the course of a few years. The mountain has been significantly eroded by glaciers over the last 25,000 years and is now covered in talus deposits. On May 22, 1915, a powerful explosive eruption at Lassen Peak devastated nearby areas and spread volcanic ash as far as 280 miles to the east. This explosion was the most powerful in a series of eruptions from 1914 through 1917.

Lassen Peak and Mount St. Helens in Washington state were the only two volcanoes in the contiguous United States to erupt during the 20th century. Lassen Volcanic National Park which encompasses an area of 106,372 acres was created to preserve the areas affected by the eruption, for future observation and study, and to protect the nearby volcanic features. The park, along with the nearby Lassen National Forest and Lassen Peak, has become a popular destination for recreational activities, for those who see adventure!

Day three of your journey begins in Chester as you travel south back to Auburn, on an amazing combination of scenic mountain roads, curvy canyon roads, and dirt wagon routes, including historic gold rush mining sites such as Goodyears Bar, Mountain House, and Oregon Creek. This amazing off-road adventure route explores forgotten mining sites and abandon wagon routes that were once boomtowns and bustling wagon stops full of pioneers, prospectors, and prostitutes during the California Gold Rush. Today these forgotten mining sites and historic wagon routes are abandoned relics from a bygone era waiting to be rediscovered by those who seek adventure!