Page 113 - 2024/2025 Travel Guide to CALIFORNIA

DRIVE TOUR
The VOLCANIC LEGACY SCENIC BYWAY is a 500-mile-long route that winds from LAKE ALMANOR, south of Mount Lassen, to CRATER LAKE in southern Oregon, with access to most of the region’s major attractions. upstateca.com/account/
volcanic-legacy-scenic-byway
(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 pop- ulation 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 develop- ment of the timber and tourism industries. In the 1970s, New Age seekers began fil- tering 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 fam- ilies 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
SPECIAL EVENTS 2024
WEAVERVILLE ART WALK On the first Saturday of every month in historic Weaverville, artists open their gallery doors. Live music often accompanies the one mile stroll. Pop-up artists and vendors add to the experience. upstateca.com/eventdetail/4053/weaverville-art-walk
KOOL APRIL NITES Miles of classic cars, an officially designated cruising route and 50s-style sock hops are the big attractions. April 19-28, Redding koolaprilnites.com
REDDING RODEO May is rodeo month in Redding, kicking off with a barbecue and dance and then four days of classic riding and roping events, plus “mutton bustin’”
for the kids. May 15-18, Redding reddingrodeo.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
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