A really nice visit with gorgeous views of the mountains to start off. Waited in gift shop for our…read moretrip to the boat to go across the lake to go up to caverns. You can walk down stairs or take the ramps to get to boats. Nice easy ride across lake where your docked and take a bus up to lodge before entering the caves. If you are not able to climb a lot stairs, don't try the caverns. There are lots of stairs with narrow pathways. Sorry. Beautiful caverns with lots of history about how they were found and even some original paths in and ladders from founder. The light show at the end was fun. Worth the history, boat and bus ride up. Plus, Elsie, a boat from WWII Normandy sits in the harbor and is still used to boat stuff around and even has old bullet wounds to show. Reasonably priced adult ticket is $47.84 and can be purchased online or at the cute little gift shop. This is for at least 2 hours and if your a smaller group, lots of 1 on 1 with your guide for questions answered and they are very knowledgeable.

I had a wonderful time at the caverns. This is a must see if in the Redding/Shasta area…read more I purchased my tickets online. It was easy and quick process. You can also purchase tickets from the gift shop. The entire trip was smooth and super fun. It started with a ferry ride to the other side of the lake. There was a bus waiting for us. We loaded the bus, drove up to the caves, and met our guide. We met Jenna, tour guide, and began our tour. She was funny and very informative throughout the entire tour. The caves were fantastic to see. BEWARE: there are lots of stairs in the caves that you must climb and descend. There were loads of rock formations to see in the caves. The lighting system made it easier to each one. I especially liked the light show at the end.

This is an amazing landmark and art piece that's on the grounds of the Sheraton Redding Hotel at…read morethe Sundial Bridge. It's basically an old aggregate plant that took stones from the Sacramento River and used a miles-long conveyor belt to send them to be used in the construction of the Shasta Dam. It's a very cool piece of history that easily flies under the radar.

The Sundial Bridge is a nice bridge to visit in Redding. The 700 foot long bridge crosses over…read morethe Sacramento River and connects the north and south campus of Turtle Bay Exploration Park. The floor or deck of the bridge is made with glass so that you can see the river below. The bridge is a real sundial in daylight hours. We visited over the Christmas/New Year Holiday on a rainy cold night. We couldn't see much, except for the bridge lit up in holiday lights. The bridge was a little slippery with the glass and tiles. It was a little difficult to walk with a bad knee because of the slipperiness. It was a beautiful bridge at night. We need to come back in daytime.

Well worth a visit to see this spectacular bridge over the Sacramento River. The walkway is glass…read morepanels and it leads from the parking lot to the botanical garden and paths in Turtle Bay Exploration Park. No charge to walk over it and enjoy the view!

The views are amazing and anxiety imposing!…read more You can walk out onto the dam and looking either way, the views are spectacular. To your one side, amazing anxiety driving views where even if you're not afraid of heights, you'll start breathing heavy. Then, on the other side, spectacular views of lake Shasta with imposing mountains in the backdrop. Connected to a cool visitor station, this is worth the drive to visit if you're around the area.

After a tour at Shasta Caverns, I was able to nerd out even more with a visit to Shasta Dam. The…read morearea is free to visit if you want to walk across the dam or check out the visitor center, which has a small theater with a really fascinating short documentary playing. There's also a gift shop and some displays. But what you really need to check out is their free tour of the dam. On the tour, you can go inside the dam itself and have a guided tour of the facilities and even the grounds at the bottom of the dam. I found it really interesting and learned a lot about the dam's construction and role it plays in water management from the heavy rains Nor Cal gets in the winter. Their website posts hours the visitor center is open and what times tours run. I caught the last tour of the day on a random Monday and it was just my boyfriend and I. The tour is free and even with just the two of us, our guide made it engaging and educational. The epic views of the river, lake and Mt Shasta are worth the drive over. Definitely a cool attraction and not too far from Redding if you're in the area.

Pulled over on the highway to check out this old courthouse. Staffed by a park employee, it…read moredoesn't take long to see everything, but you can stay a while if you read all of the interesting story boards. I recommend visiting this locale if you have any interest in the history of Shasta.

Right on the road to Whiskeytown National Recreation area. It was a short stop but interesting to…read moreread about the history this place brings to life. The signs explained how the town at one time was all built with brick. We would recommend a stop. It's not far from Redding and there is a nice park to enjoy a picnic meal.

Lewiston Lake resembles a river due to power generation releases from the Trinity Power House at…read morethe upper end of Trinity Dam. The cold, clear water coming out of Trinity Dam is spiked with ground-up fish that get sucked through the turbines and what then becomes a very fertile trout fishery.

The falls are absolutely gorgeous and a must see!!…read more We arrived around 1000 on a Friday where we had to park in overflow, so I suggest to go early. They have a gift shop that sells softserve icecream so we grabbed one of those and talked to the store clerk who also runs the marina where he explained the boating and kayaking options, fishing, etc. Afterwards we hiked the paved path down to the falls. The path has an incline and is wet in some areas so exercise caution as we saw someone fall and bust her knee open. The falls are so beautiful from every angle, and very worth the trip! After taking a ton of photos we walked on another path that took us to a cool bridge crossing the river. Then headed over to the marina area and rented a kayak for 4 hours for $85, which is great price honestly. The guy at the boat rental area was very nice and accomodating. The sun was out in full force so take your sunscreen! We fished and caught a few small mouth bass but nothing we could keep. After we turned in our kayaks we found a picnic area and grilled up some food. Overall we really enjoyed our day at this park and highly recommend!!

This is my second trip to McArthur Burney Falls. Easy access and available parking today, 09.17.25…read moredue to it being the end of season/fall. $10 entrance fee, accept cash or credit cards. I actually received a $1 back as in a senior. I dislike that dog access is limited to parking lot, and observation area. Not allowed on stairs leading down to base of falls, on trails, posted properly. I understand people don't clean up after their pets plus you never know how dogs will interact. Their park, their rules. I love the rule that doesn't allow you to leave your dog(s) in the car, kudos. I think these dog rules apply to all California State Parks. Beautiful falls, great fall weather, friendly rangers.

it may look clean, but it has a lot of feces problems. There are fresh water showers, and it is wet…read moreand cool. Just do not drink the water.

More cities need community swimming holes like this one…read more It's a bit nostalgic, really, to think of a gathering place you could bring your family and friends to swim and have a good time... for free! Even more of a throwback was to see actual lifeguards on duty. There was even a snow cone vendor nearby. For a second I thought I was imagining myself in an 80s flick and waited for John Cusack to float by me on an inner tube... must have been the triple digit heat that day. Anyway, Chico continues to throw a surprise at me every time I visit and explore around. One Mile is a gem and I'm grateful to my friend for introducing it to me. Next time I'm bringing a picnic for sure. Check it out!

This is a quick spot to pull over to take in the view of Mount Shasta. There are a few educational…read moreboards with information along the sidewalk, but not much else. The view isn't even all that good. In all, it's an okay spot to get out and stretch the legs for a few minutes, but that's it.

Amazing view! ...and people's garbage left behind. The view is incredible though. I wish it had…read moreenough elevation to get photos with out trying to hide the traffic.

The "Temple of the Forest Beneath the Clouds," also known as the Weaverville Joss House State…read moreHistoric Park, is a remarkable historical site due to how well it is decorated and preserved. It truly offers a unique glimpse into the lives of Chinese immigrants in early California. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a significant majority of Chinese emigration to North America originated from the Sze Yup (The four counties) region of Guangdong province in China. These counties are located on the west side of the Pearl River Delta. This region includes Taishan (Toi Shan), Kaiping, Xinhui, and Enping. Taishan was the largest source of these immigrants. The exodus was caused by severe ethnic wars. The Punti-Hakka Clan Wars were a conflict between the Hakka and the Cantonese people in Guangdong, China between 1855 and 1867. The wars were fiercest around the Pearl River Delta, especially in Toi Shan of the Sze Yup counties. The wars resulted in roughly a million dead with many more displaced civilians. Due to this immigration pattern, Taishanese was the dominant dialect of Chinese spoken in Chinatowns across North America up until the mid-20th century. While related to Cantonese, Taishanese has limited mutual intelligibility with it. Approximately 1.3 million people are estimated to have origins in Taishan. It's noteworthy that there are more overseas Taishanese than those living in Taishan itself, highlighting the significant diaspora. Taishanese immigrants played a crucial role in the development of early California and the United United States. For example, they constituted about 90% of the entire workforce (approximately 12,000 workers) employed by the Central Pacific Railroad to build the transcontinental railroad. They also worked in gold mines, fisheries, and various other labor-intensive jobs, contributing significantly to the state's economy. Even today, many older generations in Chinatowns in major North American cities like San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, New York City, and Boston still speak Taishanese. However, more recent immigration patterns and the increasing prevalence of Mandarin and other dialects have led to a shift in the linguistic landscape of these communities. Despite their immense contributions, Chinese immigrants, including the Toi Shanese, faced severe discrimination and mistreatment in the US, culminating in acts like the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which significantly restricted Chinese immigration for decades. The Weaverville Joss House, as a surviving example of a rural-style Chinese temple of that era, holds immense historical and cultural significance, especially considering that many similar temples in China were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. Its preservation offers a tangible link to this important period of Chinese American history. I have many Toi Shanese friends, hence my interest in their origins and culture and as to why there are so many of them here in California.

State Park and Oldest Chinese Temple in California [Weaverville CA]…read more The Temple is located in the heart of Weaverville which is a small community that is some fifty miles west of Redding. When we arrived at the park the 1:00p tour had just started. We were able to catch up outside of the temple. The tour guide/docent was very knowledgeable in its history. He shared a lot of the symbolic exhibits and was informative in describing the Taoism study as we entered the 'Conference Room' first then the Temple itself, which was where we spent the most time. The temple is the oldest in California and has been in continuous use as a place of worship since its construction. At the end of the tour I was able to go back inside the Visitor's Center and take a closer look at the museum collection pieces on display including a beautiful "Chinese Lion Dancer's Headdress" and an old abacus. The park includes a visitor center, parking lot, and the Kuan Yin pool. Park hours are from Thursday to Sunday from 10:00a to 5:00p. The Temple and Visitor Center are open Friday to Sunday from 10:00a to 4:00p. Tours of the Chinese Taoist Temple are offered at 11am, 1pm, and 3pm. Tour fee is $4 adults 18 and older. Review #3457