Had a wonderful experience! Met multiple guides who were all friendly and went the extra mile to…read moreeducate us and meet us at our skill level. They made us feel part of the family, clearly evidenced by the presence of multiple repeat clients. I'd book with SWS again in a heartbeat!

I've spent the past thirty plus years skiing resorts but over the last three days, the SWS…read moretrainers, Nathan and Caleb, prepared me for my beginning of backcountry adventure, with the avalanche class. I wish I had taken this class sooner and will get more of my family trained with these knowledgeable and friendly outfitters.

Totally awesome day on Mt. Shasta with our guide Daniel. My dad and I booked a one-day tour with…read moreSMG to strengthen our backcountry skiing skills and to get to ski some of the awesome terrain on Shasta. We skinned up to around 9400ft and then transitioned to ski down. Daniel went out of his way to care for our safety, learning, and experience on the mountain. You could also tell he cared a lot about the mountain, town, and the outdoors in general. If you're getting into backcountry skiing, I highly recommend a day tour with SMG on Shasta!

I have been on two expeditions with Shasta Mountain Guides, and a friend has gone on a third trip…read more None of these trips saw the summit. Now I understand that in mountaineering weather plays a deciding role in if a summit is reached or not, but it seems to me like reaching the summit is NOT a priority at ALL. I mean ZERO priority. On this second trip, I was also told by one of the guides that my "footwork" was not good enough (whatever that means), so I was forbidden to head up towards the red banks. Meanwhile, I was in lockstep with the rest of my crew, and was not complaining, for a major blister I had on my heal. After having spent $3,000+ for the guides, (not to mention all other associated costs) they served ramen noodles with frozen meatballs in a cup. (Not a plate, meaning portions were tiny). Personally, I find their guidance underwhelming, and for someone to decide whether or not I can climb is preposterous. I do not recommend this company.

Terrific little campground in a picture perfect setting. First come first serve with six…read morecampsites. A maximum of three day stay and you cannot leave your campsite unattended for more than 24 hours. The Castle Lake day use area is just up the road. Lots of great hikes and beautiful views.

I tried to find a listing for the actual Castle Lake but instead just found the campground. To be…read moreclear, the campground is a short distance prior to the actual lake which has its own parking lot and trailheads. Once parked at the lake, you can embark on the moderate trail to Heart Lake. Approaching the lake, the trail is to the left of it and climbs along the lake shore with intermittent views. As you take a gradual but steady climb up, you will start to see views open up and eventually see Mt Shasta itself. Most hikers stop at Heart Lake which is a scenic spot with granite on one side and on the outlet side of the lake for Shasta views. If you're wanting a little bit of a longer hike, when facing the lake, make a right and log hop across its outlet and follow a faint but obvious trail to a rocky outcropping. There you will reach an amazing vista of Castle Lake and Mt Shasta. It's a great spot to have your lunch and take some amazing photos. Take care on the way down as there are some steep drop offs and slippery rocks. Most of the trail is exposed, so I'd go earlier in the day in the warm months. Depending on how far you go, it's 3-4 miles out and back. Wonderful way to have amazing mountain scenery in a short hike. Free parking at the lake and pit toilets (not the best, not the worst I've seen.)

Mount Shasta is an incredibly beautiful mountain and volcano. If your driving between Seattle and…read moreLos Angeles you can't miss it from the highway. There are probably a couple different cities that you can enjoy Mount Shasta from but my favorite city is Weed. They have hotels and gift shops and is a cute little town with everything you need. There are two exits for Weed off the highway. One exit is the 'old town' part that is more cute and the other exit is the newer part. I think staying a night here is a perfect thing to do as the scenery is so pleasant. It really is a destination. So often to see natural beauty like this you have to sacrifice comforts of city living. Not with Mount Shasta - its a town that has it all and is just steps away from a little nature walk with an incredible backdrop. It is a real sight to see when you have this regular old Shell Gas station or even Grocery Outlet where the backdrop is the volcano. I don't think you can ever get tired of the harmony here of man made combined with nature.

Incredible volcano and mountain…read more Really recommend spending some time around the nature in this area, even if you won't be committing a summit climb. I went up this past weekend with the attempt to summit Shasta and had a really nice time. The town of Mt. Shasta has a few restaurants and some decent accomodations for sleeping (slept in Loge with our group which was great)... As for the hike, we went up and started at Bunny Flats and camped at Helen Lake for the night and then going for the summit via the Avalanche Gulch route. It was a beautiful and trying hike...definitely be familiar with the risks and have the proper skills to manage them if attempting. All in all; Mount Shasta is majestic and magical. Spend some time here!

The water is hypothermia inducingly cold, the walk is treacherous and the falls aren't that…read moreexciting. You can take the long route which requires a lot more walking near the train tracks or attempt the river crossing which could end with you swept miles downriver or drowned. At any moment they could let water out of the down to send a surge down the Sacramento River and send you off through rocks and rapids below the falls. The trains come through fast and around blind corners and the roar of the river masks the sound of the train. It is a dangerous hike and people have died there. I don't recommend it for day trippers or casual tourists. Advanced hiking skills required and extra attention to safety and strong swimmers only. Even in mid August the water is high and freezing and the river crossing is very slippery and dangerous. If you know what you are doing and manage the trek there and back you will have seen one of the areas smaller but pretty waterfalls. There is talk of building a trail with a pedestrian bridge to the falls so once that is done it will likely be overrun with day trippers. I recommend going now but be careful.

A must visit in Dunsmuir! Live the cascading waterfall so majestic , calm and mesmerizing ! It's…read moreour second time here and definitely be more visit in the future ! We had the whole waterfall to ourselves

I had such a wonderful short hike at this preserve this past August. Located in Shasta/Trinity…read morenational forest, entrance is free. I parked the Upper falls and followed the trail along the river to see those falls followed by Middle and Lower Falls, If you start where I did it's downhill first with the uphill on the way back but it's a fairly easy grade. The falls each had their own unique attributes and Middle and Lower falls have swimming access. Really lovely area and not too crowded.

We finally got a glimpse of this beauty well, the lower…read morefalls of it! Still beautiful. We walked about 1.1 miles to get to the lower falls because the road was closed. It was a really easy and breeze of a hike. There's a lookout point once you get to the waterfall and there's also stairs if you prefer to get a closer view of the waterfall. All in all, this hike is about 3.2 miles round trip and there's plenty of snow to walk & see right now.

Very well maintained trail along the perimeter of Lake Siskiyou. Decent amount of free parking near…read morethe trailhead/lakefront with bathrooms and trash cans. Tons of folks with boating equipment and stuff to hang out by the lake front and relax, fish, or have a picnic. The trail itself is a loop and you can turn around at any point. Not terribly strenuous and almost all flat - great for little ones/carrying a baby. There is a developed camp and a beach on the other side of the lake. If you're interested in a little bit more seclusion, there is plenty of space to spread out and relax, looking up at the base of Mt Shasha!

This spot was utterly incredibly! Came here with my family as it is my brothers birthday and we…read morethought a Mount Shasta trip would be a nice easy fun get away from the rigors of Los Angeles and the concrete jungle. We stopped by after eating around the area (recommend the smokehouse or bbq, stay away from the Mexican food at all costs!!) So we went to cable beach and got off and walked around and went to the lake to skip rocks and hang out as we unfortunately forgot our bathing suits. The view was so incredible, and perfect I couldn't even believe the how breathtaking it was at sunset . We skipped many rocks and even made it into a competition which I won, then I went off and found a great stump to take pictures on and unfortunately I slipped and fell on the rocks. Caution! Many rocks here so take water shoes or something with a thick bottom! Although it was pretty funny I'm still hurting haha. We saw boats on the lake and some people off to the side having a picnic and taking a dip in the lovely, warm water. All in all this was an incredible place to stop by and visit! I highly, highly, highly, HIGHLYYY recommend coming here!

Great little hike, work the walk. Little park at the trailhead, dog friendly, easy hike for me and…read moremy dogs. Cool falls, not an excessive amount of water due to time of year, can walk behind the falls. I didn't hike beyond the falls as I had a long drive ahead of me. So glad I found this spot. Lots of berry plants, beware of poison oak. You can scan a QR code to donate to the upkeep of the park, trail and falls.

A short distance walk from the parking lot. Parking is limited and free…read more It was a cool experience to be able to walk behind the falls. Pretty easy trail. Be careful as the rocks around and behind the falls can be very slippery. The trail does continue behind the falls that will lead to the Sacramento River. A cool one time thing but not worth the drive unless you are in the area.

Anyone hear of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) before? This trail is approximately 2650 miles long,…read moreand it stretches from the Mexican border in Southern California all the way up to the Canadian border in Washington state. For the folks who are able to complete the trek, it normally takes them about 5 months. Unfortunately, my lovely wife and I have not gotten the chance to do this hike of a lifetime. We have hiked a miniscule portion of the incredible Pacific Crest Trail, though. We have also met a couple of hikers who were in the midst of completing the dream! This trailhead is one of the areas where you can access the PCT. It is pretty darn cool.

This trailhead is gorgeous!. Someday I will hike this section. For now it's beautiful to drive…read morethere & hang out by the creek, look at the bridges, scenery and those tropical-looking umbrella plants . I was hoping to talk to some hikers passing through but we weren't there long enough. To get there you take the road (Squaw Valley Rd. I believe) from McCloud, the one that heads to the McCloud Reservoir. Once you pass Friday's RV Retreat, take the first road to the right and drive in a couple miles (apr). The trailhead will be on your left. You'll see a toilet...If you want better directions you can also stop at the Ranger's office in McCloud.

When I was in southern Oregon, I knew I had to visit Crater Lake. However, I was worried that…read moresince I did not have a four-wheel drive car I would not be able to visit the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. It turns out that the Hobart Bluff hike is accessible with a typical car, so I was able to check it out and do a short day hike. Now, be warned that even with this hike, you will be traversing a winding road filled with gravel. You will also pass through private property at points, so you should make sure you're driving at a slow speed and not kicking up too much dust. I entered "Hobart Bluff" into my GPS, but it ended up stopping short from the actual trailhead; I'd recommend either bringing a map with you or checking out driving directions online to minimize confusion. The hike itself is relatively easy as you approach the viewpoint. Then, you do have to climb a moderate elevation to get the amazing views. On a clear day, you can see Mount Shasta and Mount McLoughlin, and seeing the junction between the different mountain ranges (and their varying flora) was a sight to behold. If you are feeling like you want a longer hike, you can walk part of the Pacific Crest Trail and pretend that you are Cheryl Strayed for a hot second.

Great alternative to Grizzly peak. Theres a fire lookout opposite direction of hobarts trail…read morehaven't been yet though.