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Fredonyer Peak

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Fredonyer Peak
Fredonyer Peak

Place Name: Lassen County

Place Description: State: California
Date: 06/26/2020
Elevation: 7,943 Feet
Prominence: 2,423 Feet
Miles: 1
Elevation Gain: 132 Feet
Lists: Great Basin Peaks

  • Difficulty
  • Solitude
  • Kid Friendly
  • Summit Views

Cool Lookout

Great drive up to a lookout tower overlooking northeastern California

Overall
3.3

Pros

  • Awesome views of northern Sierra and Great Basin
  • Fun history learning about the lookouts
  • Beautiful country

Cons

  • Tedious and bumpy dirt road
  • Equipment on top
  • In the middle of nowhere

Never heard of Fredonyer Peak? Me neither! This ancient volcano stands at 7,943 feet, just east of Eagle Lake in Lassen County. Boasting over 2400 feet of prominence, you can expect great views, because of that, there is a manned fire lookout on top. The main reason for my visit was its spot on the Great Basin Peak List.

Getting There

Fredonyer Peak is located off Highway 139 north of Susanville, CA. Along the road you will see a forest sign that says “Fredonyer.” This is the road and it is 9 miles to the top from here. The lower section is smoother and can drive a bit faster but narrows and gets bumpy further up. The entire nine miles took us 30 minutes to drive each way. 4×4 is not needed, but you will need high clearance. So leave your Porsche at home for this one.

Fredonyer Peak

Sign at the start of dirt road marking the way to the tower.

The lookout isn’t manned outside of fire season, and there is a locked gate on the road just below the summit. On this day, William was manning the lookout so were able to drive to the top if we wanted to.

The Peak

As you walk up towards the lookout, there is a rock pile with the benchmark and a register. William gave a us a tour of the lookout and explained the history and lifestyle. The 360-degree views were fabulous with Lassen and Shasta to the west, Eagle Peak up north and lots of P2ks throughout the region. We could see all the way down to State Line Peak. Eagle Lake sat in full view to the west.

Fredonyer Peak Lookout

Fredonyer Peak

Eagle Lake with Mount Lassen on horizon.

While on the summit, radio chatter started picking up and relaying coordinates of a fire that had sparked. William pulled down the map, located the coordinates and set up his spotting scope. When we looked through, there was a plume of smoke rising near Poison Butte off of Highway 44. We had just driven by there the day before. Pretty Cool!

The Final Word

This is a great little visit and family trip to do if in the area. Make sure you have the right vehicle. There is nothing scary about the road, but it is bumpy. If you were looking to get a youngster into peak bagging, this would be a fun one to do. The surrounding country is absolutely beautiful and the drive from Susanville to this spot is also very scenic.