LARRY
HABEGGER
;
KENNETH
INGHAM/
VLSB.
OPPOSITE:
VLSB
PHOTOS
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.
• 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.
•
shastaguides.com
• 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.
• 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.
• 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
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
MUST
DO
SEE,
INSIDER'S TIP
BUMPASS HELL IN LASSEN VOLCANIC NATIONAL PARK, above; Lava Beds National Monument, Valentine
Cave entrance, below; winter fun at Chester Lake, opposite.
