Page 112 - 2025-2026 Travel Guide to California

RAFTING SERIOUS RAPIDS ON THE TRINITY RIVER, above; Bumpass Hell in Lassen Volcanic National Park,
below; Shasta Caverns near Redding, opposite.
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.
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.
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.
The Great Outdoors
Mount Shasta is irresistible to climbers;
MUST
SEE,
DO
• SUNDIAL BRIDGE Spanish architect San-
tiago Calatrava’s now-iconic cantilever pedestrian
bridge spans across the Sacramento River, making
it the centerpiece of the worthwhile Turtle Bay
Exploration Park in Redding.
• turtlebay.org/sundial-bridge
• SUMMIT FEVER With the help of a local
guide, fit beginners can attempt the 14,179-foot
summit of Mount Shasta via the classic Avalanche
Gulch route.
• shastaguides.com
• swsmtns.com
• OTHERWORLDLY Lassen Volcanic National
Park is full of surprises. 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.
• 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 the 1938 classic The Adventures of Robin
Hood starring Errol Flynn.
• 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 vin-
tage Pullman Club Car and bed down for the night
in a genuine caboose at the Railroad Park Resort.
• rrpark.com
INSIDER’S TIP
While hiking on MOUNT SHASTA,
keep an eye out for the
LEMURIANS, a race of psychically
advanced beings believed by some
to live in an enormous cave inside
the mountain. They are said to speak
excellent English, with a “slight
British accent.”
lemurianconnection.com
TRINITY COUNTY CVB; KENNETH INGHAM/VLSB. OPPOSITE: RUSSELL JOHNSON/SHUTTERSTOCK