By Stan Wawer
Drakesbad Guest Ranch is in a remote area of a remote national park. That’s the bad news. The good news is that Drakesbad Guest Ranch is in a remote area of remote Lassen Volcanic National Park. It is a 10-to-11-hour drive from the Los Angeles area, with the last three miles to Drakesbad over a really bumpy gravel road.
Lassen Volcanic National Park is California’s answer to Yellowstone with its hydrothermal features. Lassen Peak is the culprit in this park’s history. It formed 27,000 years ago as a volcanic vent and is one of the world’s largest plug dome volcanoes, rising 2,000 feet to an elevation of 10,457 feet. Lassen last popped its cork in 1914, two years before it was declared our eighth national park.
The park is at the southern end of the Cascade Range — a chain of active volcanoes stretching north to Mount Garibaldi in British Columbia. Great lava pinnacles, tall mountains created by lava flows, jagged craters and steaming vents highlight the western part of the park. The eastern part of the park is a lava plateau over a mile above sea level. Here you can find shield volcanoes and cinder cones and a forest of pine and fir.
The southeastern edge of the park at Warner Valley has an abundance of great hiking trails that lead to hydrothermal areas — Boiling Springs Lake, Devils Kitchen and Terminal Geyser. The area is forested, with a glacial valley and gorgeous meadows.
The park has dozens of mountain lakes, eight developed campgrounds and more than 150 miles of hiking trails. During my three-day stay at Drakesbad Guest Ranch, I hiked to Boiling Springs Lake and Devils Kitchen. On my hike to Boiling Springs, I came upon two young bucks grazing among the tall timber. They paid me no mind as I strolled within 10 yards of them. My hike to Devils Kitchen (about 3 miles roundtrip from Drakesbad) was a little more strenuous as I climbed to more than 6,000 feet.
Drakesbad Guest Ranch is snuggled into one of Warner Valley’s gorgeous meadows. Ed and Billie Fiebiger have managed the place for 20 years. The guest ranch opens the first Thursday in June and closes Columbus Day, Oct. 12. Billie is from Switzerland and Ed from Munich, Germany. The ranch is rustic but clean and serves three excellent meals a day. The California Parks Company has been Lassen Volcanic National Park concessionaire for 32 years.
My wife and I stayed in the lodge. There is no key to the room. There is a chain and hook lock on the inside for the nights.
Ed came to the U.S. in 1960, became a citizen and was drafted into the Army in 1961. He worked for the ski patrol in the area before he and Billie began managing Drakesbad.
Drakesbad got its name from Edward R. Drake, a fur trapper, guide and lumberjack who arrived in the area around 1875.
“Drake originally purchased 100 acres and eventually expanded it to 400 acres,” Ed Fiebiger said. “The land was in the areas now called Drakesbad and Devils Kitchen. His land holdings included hot springs and other thermal features associated with the Mt. Lassen volcano.”
According to Ed, Drake had arthritis and the hot springs helped. However, he sold the 400 acres for about $6,000 to Alex Sifford in 1900. The Siffords lived and worked Hot Springs Valley as a popular hunting and vacation resort for 60 years. In 1908 they renamed the valley Drakesbad (Drake’s bath) in honor of former owner.
“The park service purchased Drakesbad from the Sifford family in 1958,” said Ed, who knows everything about the area and the national park. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
Drakesbad Guest Ranch features kerosene lamps. It was electrified in the 1990s, but none of the cabins and the lodge has plug-ins. Leave the hair dryers and computers at home. Drakesbad has no Wi-Fi, television or cell phone reception. It is a DEAD ZONE, which makes it unique.
Every day when my wife and I sat in the lodge’s public room, teenagers were seated at a table playing games instead of texting, tweeting or playing video games. Outside there is sand volleyball, badminton, horseshoes, hiking, horseback riding ($30 an hour) or swimming in the pool warmed by the hot springs. In the evening, kids sat around the outdoor fire pit and roasted marshmallows. Every Wednesday, Ed barbecues steaks, brats, hot dogs and hamburgers, serving them with baked beans, corn on the cob, baked potato and coleslaw.
“Success for us is repeat business,” Ed said. “Our goal is to provide excellent customer service. We get a nice mix of cultures here, which is nice.”
A lot of true hikers come through Drakesbad and swim, shower and eat. The showers are about a hundred yards from the lodge.
Every evening before dinner, my wife and I sat on the log swings, reading and sipping a glass of wine while enjoying the solitude, the view of the meadow and the forest and watching a couple of marmots foraging around the lodge area. Lassen National Park and Drakesbad Guest Ranch are little-known California treasures and worth the 600-mile drive from the San Gabriel Valley.
“Lassen is a geological wonder,” Ed said. “I don’t know why people don’t flock in to see this place.
“I think the name volcanic scares some people off,” he added, “and there is a lack of accommodations inside the park.”
New cabins in Lassen Volcanic National Park are coming to Manzanita Lake in June 2011. Reservations will be available online in January at www.lassenrecreation.com.
If you go
Airlines and AMTRAK serve Redding, Chico and Reno with car rentals available. Private plans land at Chester. Driving time is about 10 to 11 hours from the Los Angeles Area. The park is about a half-hour out of Chester. Call (530) 595-4444 or go to www.nps.gov/lavo.
Where to stay
Drakesbad Guest Ranch. Open the first Thursday in June until Columbus Day, Oct. 12. Drakesbad has a variety of daily and weekly rates for the lodge, cabin bedrooms, bungalows and a duplex. Tax and gratuity are not included in the quoted rates. All meals are included. Gratuities are given at the end of your stay. The ranch is on the honor system. If you purchase a beer, wine, soft drinks, water, sweatshirt, T-shirt, cap, candy, toiletries, etch, you put your name on a pad, the item purchased, the price and your room or cabin number. It will be included in your final bill. For reservations, call (866) 999-0914. For more information, go to www.drakesbad.com.
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