14.5 miles
Distance
1,999 ft
Climb
-1,993 ft
Descent
1 mile
High Point

Ranked as one of the least-visited national parks in 2022, Lassen Volcanic National Park flies under the radar despite its stunning volcanic features spread throughout its 170 square miles. Visit for a chance to hike atop an active volcano covered in bubbling mud pots, hydrothermal pools, and roaring fumaroles (steam and volcanic gas vents). The Butte Lake to Snag Lake loop makes a 13-mile circle around the park’s two largest lakes, passing geologic marvels along the way like the ancient frozen flows of the Fantastic Lava Beds. Take a side trip to the top of the 700-foot-tall volcanic remnants of Cinder Cone at the southwest corner of the loop to catch a view of Prospect Peak and Lassen Peak in the distance. You’ll also get a birds-eye look at Snag Lake, the Fantastic Lava Beds, and the Painted Dunes below.

source: Escape the National Park Crowds and Hit These 6 Trails Near ‘The Sunniest City in California’ Instead
Detailed Description
Butte Lake to Snag Lake Loop is a 15 mile moderately popular intermediate route located near Redding California. This hike primary route. This route includes 4 trails. This route climbs 1,999 ft with a max elevation of 6,888 ft then descends -1,993 ft.
Local Trail Association
Please consider joining or donating to the local riding association to support trail development & maintenance.
donate to earn trail karma!

Comments


We hope you've been enjoying Trailforks!

Create a FREE account to view route comments and much more.

Create a Free Account

Trails in Route

Details

More Stats for Butte Lake to Snag Lake Loop mountain bike route
  • Avg time
    6 hr 23 min
  • Altitude change
    6 ft
  • Altitude min
    6,058 ft
  • Altitude start
    6,073 ft
  • Altitude end
    6,079 ft
  • Grade max
    -86.8%
  • Grade min
    59.8%
  • Distance climb
    7 miles
  • Distance down
    6 miles
  • Distance flat
    1 mile

Directions

  1. Walk southwest on Nobles Emigrant (Cinder Cone).
  2. Continue for 2 kilometers.
  3. Keep left to take Cinder Cone North.
  4. Continue for 500 meters.
  5. Turn left onto Cinder Cone Rim.
  6. Continue for 400 meters.
  7. Turn left onto Cinder Cone South.
  8. Continue for 1 kilometer.
  9. Bear left onto Snag Lake Loop.
  10. Continue for 600 meters.
  11. Keep right to take Rainbow Lake.
  12. Continue for 4 kilometers.
  13. Turn left onto Rainbow to Snag Lake.
  14. Continue for 3 kilometers.
  15. Turn right onto Snag Lake Loop.
  16. Continue for 900 meters.
  17. Turn left to stay on Snag Lake Loop.
  18. Continue for 10 kilometers.
  19. Keep left to take Butte Lake.
  20. Continue for 1.5 kilometers.
no votes yet
close
  • BasemapMap 
    • Pro
    • Pro
    • Pro
    • Pro
    • Pro
    • Pro
    • Pro
    • Pro
3D
Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Snow Cover Partial
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)
Trailforks scans users ridelogs to determine the most popular direction each trail is ridden. A good flowing trail network will have most trails flowing in a single direction according to their intension.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.
  • > 96%
  • > 90%
  • > 80%
  • > 70%
  • > 50%
  • < 50%
  • bi-directional trail
  • no data
Trail Last Ridden
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine the last time a trail was ridden.
  • < 2 days
  • < 1 week
  • < 2 weeks
  • < 1 month
  • < 6 months
  • > 6 months
Trail Ridden Direction
The intended direction a trail should be ridden.
  • Downhill Only
  • Downhill Primary
  • Both Directions
  • Uphill Primary
  • Uphill Only
  • One Direction
Contribute Details
Colors indicate trail is missing specified detail.
  • Description
  • Photos
  • Description & Photos
  • Videos
Trail Popularity ?
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine which trails are ridden the most in the last 9 months. Trails are compared with nearby trails in the same city region with a possible 25 colour shades. Think of this as a heatmap, more rides = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.
  • most popular
  • popular
  • less popular
  • not popular
ATV/ORV/OHV Filter
Max Vehicle Width
inches
US Cell Coverage
Legend
cell carrier legend

Radar Time
x Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public ridelogs from the past 6 months.
  • mountain biking recent
  • mountain biking (>6 month)
  • hiking (1 year)
  • moto (1 year)
Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public skilogs from the past 12 months.
  • Downhill Ski
  • Backcountry Ski
  • Nordic Ski
  • Snowmobile
Winter Trails
Warning A routing network for winter maps does not exist. Selecting trails using the winter trails layer has been disabled.
x Missing Trails
Most Popular
Least Popular
Trails are colored based on popularity. The more popular a trail is, the more red. Less popular trails trend towards green.
Jump Magnitude Heatmap
Heatmap of where riders jump on trails. Zoom in to see individual jumps, click circles to view jump details.
Trails Deemphasized
Trails are shown in grey.
disable
Only show trails with NO bikes.
enable

Save the current map location and zoom level as your default home location whenever this page is loaded.

Save
Trail transparency
view larger map

Recent Trail Reports Along Route

statustraildateconditiondescription
Cinder Cone North
Jul 17, 2024 @ 3:07am
Jul 17, 2024
super soft ...
Butte Lake
Jul 3, 2021 @ 9:33am
Jul 3, 2021
Rainbow to Snag Lake
Jul 3, 2021 @ 9:33am
Jul 3, 2021
more reports »
  • By clairegomba & contributors
  • #40999 - 263 views