MUST SEE, DO
and horseback trips. To the north, the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge, which extends into southern Oregon, is part of the Pacific Flyway; in the fall its skies are darkened by more than a million migratory birds.
City & Town
For travelers, Redding was nothing more than a pit stop along Interstate 5 until the opening of the instantly iconic Sundial Bridge across the Sacramento River in 2004.
On the lower flanks of its namesake peak, Mount Shasta City sports a main street lined with New Age bookstores and shops selling crystals said to have mystical powers. No less an authority than James Hilton, author of Lost Horizon, once claimed that the pretty alpine hamlet of Weaverville, gateway to the Trinity Alps, was the closest he’s ever come to a real-life Shangri-la.
The Great Outdoors
Mount Shasta is irresistible to climbers; in
• SUNDIAL BRIDGE
Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava’s now-iconic cantilever pedestrian span across the Sacramento River is the centerpiece of the worthwhile Turtle Bay Exploration Park in Redding.
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turtlebay.org/sundial-bridge
• SUMMIT FEVER
With the help of a local guide, fit beginners can reach the 14,179-foot-high summit of Mount Shasta via its classic Avalanche Gulch route.
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shastaguides.com
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swsmtns.com
• OTHER-WORLDLY
A visit to Lassen Volcanic National Park is packed with surprises. Who knew this geological marvel framed millennia ago offers hikers trails that lead past steaming fumaroles, and boiling mud pots where wildlife pops up unexpectedly—it is an underrated gem. Backcountry camping trips are possible for the adventurous soul.
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nps.gov/lavo/index.htm
• MEN IN TIGHTS
Stretching 11 miles from the southern Cascades to the Central Valley, Chico’s sylvan Bidwell Park stood in for Sherwood Forest in 1938’s The Adventures of Robin Hood staring Errol Flynn.
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visitcalifornia.com/experience/bidwell-park
• ROMANCE OF THE RAILS
In Dunsmuir, a classic old railroad town, rail buffs can inspect a 1927 Willamette steam locomotive, dine in a vintage Pullman Club Car and bed down for the night in a genuine caboose at the Railroad Park Resort. •
rrpark.com
the spring, summit-seekers are strung out along its most popular routes like ants on an anthill. To get to the top you need an ice axe, crampons and the skill to use them safely. But on Mount Lassen, its neighbor to the south, a well-graded trail runs all the way to the 10,457-foot-high summit. World-class fly fishing abounds in the Trinity Alps, and those willing to walk a short distance with their rods are almost guaranteed a spot to themselves. On the Salmon River, between the Trinity Alps and Marble Mountains, Otter Bar Lodge (otterbar.com) is one of the West’s premier whitewater kayaking schools.
Heritage & Culture
The Shasta Tribe of Native Americans, a band of hunters and fishermen who lived in cedar-plank houses with basements, once occupied much of what is now far-northern California and southern Oregon. Their population dropped rapidly as settlers seized land following the discovery of gold in Yreka and Upper Soda Springs in 1850. To the east, at what is now Lava Beds National Monument, the Modoc Tribe and the U.S. Army fought the last of the Indian wars in California in 1872-73. In the late 1880s, the Central Pacific Railroad spurred development of the timber and tourism industries. In the 1970s, New Age seekers began filtering into the area, culminating in 1987’s “Harmonic Convergence,” which identified Shasta as one of the world’s “power centers.”
Family Fun
The Sundial Bridge is the big draw, but for families the surrounding Turtle Bay Exploration Park in Redding offers a full day’s worth of activities emphasizing the Sacramento River watershed, and including a wildlife center, museum, playground, botanical garden and a recreated logging camp. turtlebay.org