Page 140 - 2017 Travel Guide to California

»
MUST
SEE,
DO
» Eagle Refuge Witness the largest gathering
of bald eagles in the lower 48 states each winter at
the Lower Klamath and Tule Lake national wildlife
refuges, north of Mount Shasta.
› fws.gov/refuge/Lower_Klamath
› fws.gov/refuge/Tule_Lake
» Days on the Lake Rent a spacious house-
boat and spend a few days exploring the almost
limitless coves and bays of Lake Shasta, with its
365 miles of shoreline.
› houseboating.org/sha
› sta/overview.cfm
» Crystal Persuasion Experience Mount
Shasta City’s metaphysical side by shopping for a
Lemurian Seed Crystal at The Crystal Room. But be
warned that they won’t let it go home with you
unless it’s a “good energy match.”
› crystalsmtshasta.com
» Castle Crags Do some exquisite hiking among
the soaring granite battlements of Castle Crags State
Park. It’s right off Interstate 5 a few miles south of
Mount Shasta.
› www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=454
» Sundial Bridge Stroll across the Sundial
Bridge, Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava’s
now-iconic cantilever pedestrian span across the
Sacramento River, the centerpiece of the worth-
while Turtle Bay Exploration Park in Redding.
› turtlebay.org/sundialbridge
INSIDER’S
»
TIP
Railroad buffs can dine in a
vintage PULLMAN CLUB CAR and
bed down for the night in a
genuine caboose at the RAILROAD
PARK RESORT in Dunsmuir.
rrpark.com
138 2017 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A
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 name-
sake peak, Mount Shasta City sports a
main street lined with New Age book-
stores 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.
MOUNT SHASTA IN THE FALL,
previous page; a splash of fun for all at
Redding Waterworks Park, left; on the
trail to Bumpass Hell in Lassen Volcanic
National Park, below.
The Great Outdoors
Mount Shasta is irresistible to climbers;
in 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 base-
ments, once occupied much of what is
now far-northern California and
SHASTA COUNTY CVB; CHRIS FLENTYE. OPPOSITE: TRINITY COUNTY CVB; MODOC COUNTY CVB