Lava Beds is a harsh, strange landscape of black rock, sagebrush and juniper on the high plateau of north-eastern California, formed by eruptions of the Medicine Lake Volcano, the largest volcano by volume in the Cascade Range. The volcano is a broad shield, so gently sloped that it hardly looks like a mountain, and its lava flows have created a field of cinder cones, lava flows and more than seven hundred caves. Many of the caves are lava tubes, long tunnels left behind when the outer part of a flow cooled and hardened and the molten rock drained away, and visitors can explore them with a torch and a helmet.
The area also has a dramatic human history. In 1872 and 1873, a band of Modoc people, led by a man known as Captain Jack, held out against the United States Army for several months in a natural fortress of lava, now called Captain Jack's Stronghold. The Modoc War cost the army many lives and ended with the capture and hanging of Captain Jack and several of his followers. Nearby, the Petroglyph Point holds thousands of carvings on a cliff that rises above the former shore of Tule Lake. During the Second World War, Tule Lake became a camp where Japanese Americans were imprisoned, and a few remnants of the camp remain.
The roads here are quiet and open. The main road through the park is paved and good, with long straights, easy curves and views over the lava beds, and the traffic is light. The surrounding highways are wide and smooth, with big skies and wide horizons. Weather can be extreme, with hot, dry summers and cold, snowy winters, and strong winds throughout the year, so plan for a range of conditions. Winter brings flocks of bald eagles and waterfowl to the lakes of the Klamath Basin, a major stop on the Pacific Flyway.
Fuel and food are the main practical issue. Carry spare fuel if you are going beyond. Caves are cool, around ten degrees, so bring a warm layer and a good torch, and check cave conditions at the visitor centre.
Spend an hour in one of the lava tubes. Switch off your torch for a moment, and experience a darkness that is absolute. It is a very odd feeling, and one you will remember.