Mr. E and I took a road trip up north this weekend for our first visit to
Lassen Volcanic National Park. We stayed at the lovely new
Sheraton (opened 1/18/18) by the Sundial Bridge in Redding and really enjoyed our stay, despite the still smoky conditions.
Friday, August 17-Sunday, August 19
Both of us took the afternoon off on Friday so that we could head out just after 2pm. The drive up I-5 North is easy and straight but rather boring! We made a quick stop on the way and arrived in Redding a bit before 5pm. Conditions were quite warm and smoky when we emerged from the car, so we were glad to get inside quickly. Thanks to Mr. E's status with Sheraton, we received an upgrade to a room on the 3rd floor, including access to the Club Lounge that offered daily drinks & snacks from 4-6pm and breakfast 7-9:30am on weekends. We unpacked a bit, and then I headed to the Lounge with my book while Mr. E went to the spacious Fitness Center for a treadmill workout.
We opted for the "Make a Green Choice" program, which meant no housekeeping in exchange for $10 food credit for our two-night stay. We also got a drink voucher as an "amenity" upon check-in, so for dinner we went next door to
Mosaic, a lovely restaurant with great service and very tasty food. Each of us ordered a cocktail, which we enjoyed with our squash blossom appetizer. We had intended to share the dish, but we ended up each having our own because the server realized too late that the gremolata contained onion or garlic, so Mr. E ate the original preparation and I got my own custom plate. Yum!
My entree was a light vegetable-filled pasta, and Mr. E ordered "The Classic" pizza with multiple kinds of meat. After dinner, we strolled across the nearby lit-up
Sundial Bridge, designed by famed Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. I've wanted to see this structure ever since I first read about it years ago, so it was great to be so close to the impressive site, which was completed in 2004. We finished off the evening with wine and some TV watching in our room.
Saturday morning, I did a short HIIT workout and a longer yoga practice in the room before we headed to the Lounge for breakfast. Options included eggs & sausage, potatoes, oatmeal, toast, bagels, fruit, and a coffee machine so we could make Americanos. Once we were satisfied, we filled our water bottles at the Fitness Center and hit the road for the drive to Lassen. From our location, the trip was just under one hour to the northwest entrance of the Park. We stopped at some informational placards to help plan our visit and decided to check out the Panoramic Point a bit farther north before continuing into the Park itself. We didn't actually find any sort of panorama in the way we'd been expecting (e.g. view over an expansive vista) but rather just a plantation of pine trees from the 137,000 seedlings that were planted back in 1961.
The smoky conditions we'd experienced in Redding weren't quite so extreme around the Park, but the air certainly wasn't clear, and we know we missed out on some of the natural beauty and views due to the murky air. Once we entered the Park, we started with a short hike (approx. 2 miles) around Manzanita Lake. This was a flat route that skirts the perimeter of the Lake near the Loomis Museum and Ranger Station. Our next stop was the brief (.5 mile) interpretative trail at The Devastated Area, which provided a great pictorial history about the area and how it evolved after the volcanic explosions in May 1915. Our third and final hike was to King's Creek Falls (approx. 3 miles), which included a 500' elevation change and a very steep uphill climb on narrow rock stairs for the return trip. The view of the Falls at the end was worth it, as was the impressive sight along the Cascade Foot Trail while we ascended. However, both of us felt the effects of the smoky air, the warmer-than-expected temperatures, and the altitude (7,000ish feet). We're not used to that elevation, being Sacramento-dwelling flat-landers, and the uphill climb in particular was quite an exertion.
As we headed out of the Park through the Southwest entrance, we stopped at the large new Visitor's Center and grabbed a quick snack, knowing that our drive back to Redding would take about 1.5 hours, through Red Bluff. When we got back to the hotel, we washed our feet and then hit the pool for a bit to cool off and stretch out. Dinner was back at Mosaic, where Mr. E enjoyed the burger and I had the kale salad and side of asparagus. We returned to our room to relax a bit, and then Mr. E went back to the restaurant for a final cocktail after I went to bed.
On Sunday morning, I went out for a 35-minute run along the Sacramento River Trail on the side opposite the hotel, meaning I got to run across the Sundial Bridge both ways. Love that! I also swam laps for 25 minutes, as the pool was a decent length and had a nice straight side along the stairs for me to follow. We again had breakfast in the Lounge and learned that plain eggs for me were available (sausage-less), which was a lovely surprise. Then we packed up, checked out, and embarked on the return drive to Sacramento.
We definitely want to return to Lassen (and Redding) to explore further during a cooler time of year and when there aren't any wildfires burning nearby. The Sheraton was a beautiful and well-appointed facility, and we experienced wonderful, attentive, and welcoming customer service from every staff member in both the hotel and the restaurant. I'm pretty sure we'll be back!
