No frills — and no room keys - at Drakesbad Guest Ranch

Drakesbad Guest Ranch, a 19th-century ranch in the shadow of Mount Lassen in Northern California, is a summer place — and an adventure in time travel.

The lodge, up at 6,200 feet, was electrified only in the 1990s, and some guest rooms still feature kerosene lamps. (Bungalows, cabins, an annex and a duplex plus lodge rooms add up to 19 units.)

After a day of hiking, fishing or horseback riding amid Lassen Volcanic National Park's tall trees, hissing hydrothermal vents and scenic seasonal lakes, guests circle chairs around the outdoor fire ring under stars that hang low and bright.

What to expect: No room keys. All meals family style. Soda and beer in buckets on the covered porch. Some nights, sitting in the spring-fed pool and peering through the steam across the meadow, you catch deer peering back.

Drakesbad is open in the summer season, until Oct. 13 this year. Per-person rates start at $155 per day, meals included. Info: 530-529-1512, Ext. 120; www.drakesbad.com.

Los Angeles Times