Lassen Volcanic National Park Highway Historic District

Lassen Volcanic National Park Highway is a 29.86-mile road linking the park's southwest and northwest entrances. It climbs from 6,646 feet to 8,511 feet near Lassen Peak, then descends toward Manzanita Lake, crossing geothermal areas, subalpine forests, meadows and lava fields. National Park Service engineers laid out the alignment in 1924-25 to show automobile tourists the park's most scenic and geologically interesting places, and the Bureau of Public Roads took over much of the construction after a 1926 agreement. Civilian Conservation Corps projects continued until 1941, and paving and widening followed between 1948 and 1951. Scenic pullouts, masonry culvert headwalls, bridge culverts, entrance pylons and the northwest entrance station were built from native materials to blend with the surroundings. Grades never exceed six percent. The road is listed as an intact early example of national park road design, and it remains the main way visitors experience the park.