Southwest Campground - Winter/Spring
The Quick Take
This is not a campground in any traditional sense — it is a parking lot. Specifically, five designated spaces in the middle of the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center lot where you can sleep in your van, truck camper, or RV during the snow months when everything else in Lassen is buttoned up tight. What it lacks in ambiance (no fires, no tents, literal parking medians), it makes up for in sheer accessibility: ten bucks a night, no reservation needed, and you are steps from the visitor center with its WiFi and potable water. When the snow melts around June, the adjacent walk-in tent sites open up and the experience improves considerably. This is the campground for winter explorers who need a legal, cheap place to crash while chasing snowshoe trails and volcanic steam vents in one of the quietest corners of the Cascades.
Booking
Reserve Your Campsite
15 sites, first-come first-served.
What You Get
Sites & Setup
RV Information
RVs allowed. No electrical hookups.
Accessibility
Accessible restrooms available. All parking spaces are paved and flat. Sidewalks around parking area and to Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center are ACA accessible. Paved Roads - All vehicles OK
Rules to Know
- Fires:Fires and fire pans, including portable gas fire pits, are prohibited.
Pro Tips
Self-register through the recreation.gov mobile app before you settle in — there is no physical pay station. Download the app and set up your account before you lose cell service, because connectivity here is unreliable at best.
The real payoff of winter camping here is access to the park road as a snowshoe and cross-country ski highway. The road closes to vehicles past the visitor center in winter, giving you miles of groomed-quality snow travel toward Bumpass Hell and the Sulphur Works geothermal areas with almost no one around.
Bring a self-contained cooking setup that does not involve open flame — gas stoves are allowed but fire pans and portable gas fire pits are explicitly banned. A simple propane camp stove on your tailgate is your best bet for hot meals.
Photos
NPS photo
NPS photo
NPS graphicGetting There
Directions
The parking area is 5 spaces in the center of the parking lot for Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center. The visitor center / parking lot are located in the southwest corner of Lassen Volcanic National Park along the park's main road (Hwy 89), about one mile from the southwest entrance (500 feet from entrance station/fee booth).
Get directions
