kings creek falls

On the park map that you’ll get when you enter the park, they list Kings Creek picnic area and just above it “Upper Meadow”. From the SW entrance station this meadow is about 11.7 miles and 4.8 miles from the Lassen Peak Trail head parking lot (before you get to Summit Lake). First you’ll come to a pull off for the Kings Creek Falls Trail and the picnic area. A little ways further along the road you’ll come to a big flat meadow on your left. Trip Advisor doesn’t have a separate “attraction” listed for this meadow so I’m putting this review under the Kings Creek Waterfall attraction. The main park road cuts through the meadow along it’s southern edge where there is a wide shoulder for parking. The meadow extends to the north with Mt. Lassen and Reading Peak in the background. In the fall the golden early morning light will make the wheat colored grass in the meadow glow golden and the mountains in the background may also have the wonderful golden hue that makes photographs so wonderful. Kings Creek meanders through this meadow – which at one time was a lake that filled with sediment. At the western end of the meadow that you get top first, the creek more or less parallels the road so can be used as a bottom anchor for your photos. About 2/3rd of the way east through the meadow (the way the road is going) the creek makes a 90 degree turn to the North then a 180 degree turn back to the South then another 90 degree turn to the East again. These bends and twists give you ample opportunities to use the creek as a wonderful leading line pointing to the peak or as a leading line through the meadow itself. Use a somewhat wide angle lens and try different perspectives, including getting low to the ground. Try some that include one of the mountain peaks behind the meadow along with some sky – especially if you’re blessed with those big white puffy clouds – but also try some that only include the meadow and perhaps a bit of the forest on the far side of the meadow. Also try some, using a normal or short telephoto lens, that just have some creek and meadow.At this shooting location, it’s quite easy to get nice clean shots with no people in them as the creek forms somewhat of a barrier that keeps people who don’t want to get their feet wet on it’s road side leaving the creek and the entire meadow on the other side of the creek people free (at least when we were there).I didn’t discover this spot till the day we were leaving so didn’t get the very early morning light that would have been better. The photos I’m attaching were taken in early September around 11:00 am.Also see my review called “Photographing Mt. Lassen and Manzanita lake at Sunset” under the “Manzanita Lake” attraction and “Seeing and Photographing Mt. Lassen National Park” under the “Mt. Lassen” attraction here in Trip Advisor. I will also be adding a Bumpass Hell review in a day or twoIf you found this information useful in your decision making process, you gleaned information you may not have otherwise discovered, or you just enjoyed reading it and appreciate the time I put into writing it, please give me a "helpful" vote. You’re welcome to contact me through danhartfordphoto dot com (where you can see photos of my travels) or through the “Ask Caifdan69 about .........” button at the bottom of this review

Our family did this hike and love it. Beautiful, scenic, and just lovely. We also took the short trail to see the cascades as well. Totally worth it and recommended.

Plan to hike an extra mile due to the closure of the main trail. Instead of meandering along the creek, plan on a full-sun half mile stretch of switchbacks. The rocks on the trail are large and unstable - my eight year old son almost accidentally rode a flat loose rock down the hill like it was a sled. This hike is not for families or anyone without a regular workout routine. When we arrived at the falls, my son said, "Is this it?" The falls were a huge disappointment! There was barely any water. This might not be the year to hike here...

the main path was blocked which left you with a scramble down a very steep hill or a very long zig zag down a hill. Would not recommend going unless reasonably fit about an Thirty minute walk . Once down there you will get to a fork take the right one and head back uphill and you need to go though a very low short track that is hard to see through bushes at edge to view the fall. It was flowing well even in summer.

It gets busy here and parking along the street can be a challenge, but once you squeeze in and walk down the hill you are surrounded by shady trees, a bubbling brook to one side, and sun-drenched meadows in the distance. It's a shame the trail to the falls was closed ("dangerous" not otherwise specified) but there are a few other trails that take you to large bluffs overlooking the river that offer awesome views of the entire valley, as well as some waterfalls (just not THE waterfall). It's amazing to sit quietly on a rock with a view that goes forever of unspoiled forest, listening to the roaring water far below you. Pretty much awesome.

Whether you hike all the way to the bottoms falls or not, this is a really nice hike with lots to offer all along the way. The trail starts somewhat flat with the clear stream cutting classic serpentine curves through a grassy meadow. The stream dives though several rocky gaps creating several really nice falls on their own right. It's only about a mile all told but at about halfway the upper horse trail turns to stay high above the creek offering some great views and adorable small feeder streams. The trail along the creek was hazardous and closed but I'm told the best way to do the loop is take the horse trail down and along the creek on the way back up. Sections of the horse trail are rugged but very manageable with a very pretty view of the canyon off some rocky cliffs. I've done this trail several times in every sort of weather and never seen a mosquito so don't let that stop you! You've come all this way... get out of the car and take in this very special place...Michael

What I expected for Lassen volcanic national park was small Yellowstone with some hydrothermal areas. However, we could not see hydrothermal area in this park, as Bumpass hell trail was closed due to residual snow. We chose this trail as an alternative according to a ranger's recommendation, and we really appreciated her advice. In this trail, you can see beautiful meadows, tall oak trees (though I am not sure if they are really oak trees), waterfalls, and beautiful cascades. To approach waterfalls, you can choose either long horse trail or short foot only trail. When I hiked the trail, the condition of foot trail was not good and looked even dangerous to go down the trail. So I would like to recommend to go to waterfalls through the horse trail (downhill) and come back to trail head through the foot trail (steep uphill).

I guess during this time of year the mosquito are active.Everyone in our group got bite, so make sure you bring bug repellent and spray inside your shirt... yes, inside your shirt... because we got bite through the t-shirt i was wearing....But it was a great hike never the less.

Such a beautiful hike with two trail options. Hike along the creek for more adventure.

The hike is very nice and the falls and cascades are great