Brokeoff Mountain, right, and Lassen Peak in the distance. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

Now I understand why people kept recommending Brokeoff Mountain to me. The changing beauty along the trail, the 360-degree view from atop the peak—well, it was worth the climb.

Lake Almanor in the distance from Brokeoff trail. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

The four of us finished the day going 7.4 miles, with an elevation gain of 2,429 feet. The minimum elevation was 6,635 feet and the maximum 9,235 feet.

My hiking has been rather limited of late—for no good reason—and elevation is definitely no longer something I’m accustomed to. My calves were talking to me the next day.

Brokeoff is in Lassen Volcanic National Park. While the mountain is not as tall at Lassen Peak (10,457 feet), the trail is longer because it starts lower. Brokeoff is definitely a more scenic hike—and the one to do if you have to pick between the two.

Brokeoff gets its name from having broken off from Mount Tehama when that stratovolcano started erupting about 600,000 years ago.

Lassen Peak is prominent from the top of Brokeoff Mountain. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

“Mount Tehama was about 30 times larger than Lassen Peak. It contained roughly 30 times the amount of material even though it was only about 1,000 feet higher. The footprint of Mount Tehama was much larger than that of Lassen Peak,” according to the National Park Service.

One of the striking views along the Brokeoff trail is of the Mount Tehama caldera. One can only imagine what this area looked like thousands of years ago as an intact mountain.

Delightful lilies at the start of the hike to Brokeoff. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

This is still an active volcanic region, with Lassen Peak last eruptions in 1914 and 1917.

Fortunately, the only eruptions on this first Sunday of July were bouquets of wildflowers decorating the trail. The most vibrant were at the start of the hike, though there were flowers near the peak as well. Lower elevation wildflowers usually peak in July, while the summit wildflowers peak mid-August.

Some of the flowers included lupine, Indian paintbrush, arrowleaf groundsel, delphinium, red columbine, yarrow, Columbian monkshood, lily, sanddune wallflower and Castilleja.

The trail leading to the rocky Brokeoff Mountain. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

I was glad to have poles as there were enough spots with soft dirt and rocks so that the added support for balance was welcome—though I did slide and fall twice, but they were no big deal—just dirtied my pants.

The start of the hike is through a forest. Fortunately this side of the highway was not burned in the devastating 2021 Dixie Fire. It opens up at times to meadows with pockets of water. Those will likely dry up as summer goes along.

Plenty of water in early July below tree line along Brokeoff trail. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

At a couple points it’s necessary to cross small streams. Walking on the logs made the hiking poles valuable.

Just before reaching the summit the rocky finish line is in view with Lassen and Mount Shasta also part of the picture. The cloud cover and haze made snowcapped Shasta a bit fuzzy.

At various times Lake Almanor also makes an appearance.

Brokeoff is usually a hike to do in later July and into the fall because in a normal snow year the white stuff can block the route. I saw one semi-large mound of snow off trail on the way up, and then several pockets scattered about the park were visible from the top.