California & Oregon Road Trip Planning - Mt. Shasta

"Every hundred feet the world change." -Robert Bolano

We're so looking forward to exploring the beautiful landscapes of Mt. Shasta, an experience that's been on my bucket list for way too long. Once we leave Lassen Park, we are planning to stop by McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park.

Courtesy of California State Park, 2015

Burney Falls Park was once described by Teddy Roosevelt as "the eighth wonder of the world". One of the most visually stunning waterfalls in the state, Burney Falls is a fern draped, 129 foot tall cascade of pure water power. The park sits on the eastern edge of the Cascade Range, between magnificent Mount Shasta and Lassen Peak.

There are 5 miles of hiking trails that wind through the park's beautiful evergreen forests. There are 3 main trails that lead from the falls; The Burney Creek Trail, the Falls Loop Trail, and the Headwaters Loop Trail, all starting near the park's visitor's center. There are tons of activities to enjoy in the park, too many to mention here. To explore your options, visit page 4 of this link.

Now on to Mt. Shasta
Spectacular mountain vistas and pristine alpine lakes make Mt. Shasta the most idyllic destination in the country, presenting a "fairy tale" like vision, dominating the northern California landscape. Mt. Shasta is awe inspiring, at an incredible 14,179 feet.

Photo by Zengame

Submitting the mountain is left to the most experienced climbers who can also enlist the services of local, highly trained guides. You definitely don't need to be a world class hiker to enjoy this breathtaking paradise. No trails lead up Mount Shasta, but there are many that provide access to the wilderness around the foot of the mountain. There are plenty of easy, maintained trails (27.8 miles in all) that loop through the area, taking you through gorgeous meadows filled with wildflowers and lush green forests. One of the prettiest trails in the area is an easy, 2-mile path that takes you along McCloud River, located on the mountains south side. This trail leads you to 3 beautiful waterfalls with Middle Falls being most visitors' all-time favorite.

Additional Activities in Mt Shasta
There's an endless list of exceptional outdoor activities to enjoy in Mount Shasta including camping, caverns to explore, fly fishing and skiing during the winter months at the Mt. Shasta Ski Park, located on the mountain's western slope.
 
Shasta Lake
Shasta Lake is a home to a wealth of unique recreational pursuits. You can watch bald eagles soar through the air as you fish, explore its many coves and rent a luxurious houseboat - basically, no visit to Shasta Lake needs to be the same.

photo by psyber artist

Renting a houseboat makes it easy to explore the state's premier reservoir, something everyone should try once. A typical summer day on the lake finds the impossibly blue waters dotted with jet skis, fishing boats, houseboats and just about anything else that floats. The nearly 370 miles of shoreline wrap around tranquil coves, the perfect places to drop anchor and relax, maybe do a little fishing for sturgeon, crappie, catfish or bass. You can rent houseboats from resorts and marinas around the lake, ranging from high end to more affordable models.

Another worthy activity at the lake would be taking a free tour of 602-foot Shasta Dam, the second largest concrete dam in the United States. You can also take a guided tour of the Lake Shasta Caverns, an intriguing underground world (over 250 million years old), that's only accessible by boat which is included in the tour.

If you're interested in a truly distinctive overnight experience, why not stay in a "Yurt" (located at Lakeshore East in Shasta Lake), a circular tent commonly used by nomads in Mongolia, Siberia and Turkey. You'll find several campgrounds around the lake as well, with different parts of the lake best suited for varying recreational activities. Here's a great link that will help you decide which part of the lake you should consider visiting.

Our California Coastline Trip

"A Comfort Zone is A Beautiful Place, but Nothing Ever Grows There." -Unknown Author

What's not to love about California? It has countless miles of sun-drenched coastline, the inviting ocean, and year-round temperatures of around 70 degrees. I consider myself lucky to be able to pack up the kids and take a three-day trip along the coast—and that's exactly what we did recently. Staying at Costanoa Lodge, hiking in Butano State Park, visiting a berry farm, spending time with good friends and enjoying exceptional gourmet meals in Pescadero.We couldn't have had a more 'California' weekend.

The first stop of our trip led us to the Santa Cruz Wharf for lunch and digging into some  hearty clam chowder bread bowls. After lunch, we strolled to Streamer Lane, watching the surfers take on the perfect waves (huge swells in the winter and excellent surf all year). Steamer Lane is Santa Cruz's most famous surf spot, located just off West Cliff Drive. The cliffs here provide a ideal vantage point to watch surfers, and the brick-clad Santa Cruz Surfing Museum sits nearby, offering its visitors a lot of neat, local history - like stories of Jack O'Neill who designed the modern wetsuit.

Next we drove north along the beautiful Pacific Coast Highway 1 stopping at Swanton Berry Farm. My kids and I picked fresh organic strawberries, stopped by the store, sampled some of their to-die-for fresh berry jams and indulged in their amazing strawberry lemonade. We added in a couple of wonderfully rich berry chocolates for good measure and had the perfect pit stop. We soon passed by Año Nuevo State Park, though we didn't stop because summer isn't the best season to visit the park. Winter brings the best opportunity to watch the park's elephant seals, and it's definitely an experience anyone visiting the area should have on their bucket list.

















We finally ended the day by eagerly joining our friends at Costanoa, an eco-adventure resort designed to inspire its guests to explore the natural beauty of the California coastline. There are several activities one can enjoy, including hiking, kayaking and even receiving a luxurious spa treatment. The experience was incredible and it proved to be a relaxing retreat indeed.







Costanoa has several accommodation options, including cabins, tent cabins, RV campsites and the main lodge. My friends and I each had our own cabin, and they were connected by a shared wall and a spacious patio. It was the perfect setup for all of us, and we hung out in the mornings on the shared patio to have breakfast. It was also great because our kids could play between the cabins and on the patio. The cabins are basically a room with beds and a half bathroom (a tiny sink and a toilet). Still though, it felt like a 5-star campsite for us since we had the convenience of sleeping in a room with nice beds and mattresses and a half bathroom inside. The cabin also had a skylight to watch the stars at night while lying on our beds. There were also very nice showers just a few steps outside of the cabins, and a fire pit was nearby with comfortable couches to sit on. At night, when we wanted to roast our marshmallows, we called the front desk and they started the fire for us. Talk about service! We had a good, old-fashioned time roasting marshmallows and making s'mores. Our friends also brought along their popcorn shaker, and we made popcorn on the fire, a new experience for my kids!

The next day we went out hiking at Butano State Park. I'd heard about the beauty of this park many times before, and we couldn't resist checking it out since we were just a few minutes from the park. We started off our hike by walking through part of the six-bridge trail, and it was fun for everyone to count the bridges as we hiked.

The uphill areas felt hard on the kids' legs. Still, they all managed to finish a 5-6 mile loop, with a lunch break in between. Having a bag of trail mix (with some yummy treats like M&M and Cheetos) kept them excited to go on while the nuts and dried fruits gave them the energy to push through the strenuous inclines. The park is located in a secluded redwood-filled canyon and has miles of hiking trails of different skill levels.

 











We visited Pescadero State Beach & Marsh during the rest of our trip. This is a beautiful park with a mile-long shoreline, tide pools, sandy coves and rocky cliffs. We enjoyed the great Pacific Ocean views while the kids played in the lagoon and on the sand. The water felt too cold for them (or even me!) to swim in, but we weren't opposed to getting our feet wet while we played along the shore and watched the cute little hermit crabs. On the last day, we stopped at Arcangeli Grocery Co for their roasted garlic, artichoke bread that was fresh out of the oven! Yum! We would never leave Pescadero without indulging in some artichoke soup and artichoke bread! It was the ideal ending to the perfect three-day road trip.

My Favorite High-Protein, High-Fiber Meal

Our road trip to Northern California and Oregon is fast approaching. While I'm making a packing list for clothes, gear and food, I thought to share one of our healthy camping/backpacking meals. It can be breakfast or it can be lunch. What I love about it is:

• It's delicious.

• It's healthy and loaded with protein and fiber.

• I can make it in advance if I don't have much time to prepare a healthy breakfast for a day of hiking, biking or backpacking.

• If we're not hungry that early, I can pack it for the family and we can take bites throughout the morning. It helps us make it through the day on this one meal!

What I love so much about it is that it's loaded with protein for muscle building/reconstructing, fiber to keep us fuller longer and lots of delicious flavors!

Have you guessed what it is yet? It's not a bagel, cereal, or smoothie. It's a hot meal!

It's a Breakfast Burrito! 

Recipes? Na...Make Your Own!

There's really not a single recipe fits all for breakfast burritos. Our healthy, high-protein, high-fiber and low-carb version is:

• Dice and chop some vegetables. Our favorite vegetables are sweet potatoes, mushrooms, yellow onion, red bell peppers and spinach. 
• Satué sweet potatoes, yellow onions and red bell peppers (from the one that takes the longest to cook to the shortest). 
• Push the veggies to one side of the pan and scramble two eggs on the other (you may add some taco seasoning into the eggs for some additional flavors). 
• When the eggs are nearly done, add some spinach (and feta cheese, if you like, to taste). 
• Wrap everything in a gluten-free tortilla. 
• Depending on your diet, other ingredients to add are grated cheese, bacon and sliced sausages. 
• And for some additional taste and spice, you may top it up with some green chilies. Voila! Bon Appetit!

Not only do high-intensity outdoor activities burn a lot of calories, but being at altitude requires your body to burn more carbohydrates. The addition of sweet potatoes, which are higher in fiber and thus provide a slower-burning carbohydrate source than white potatoes, is great.

Looking for more reason to love breakfast burritos while camping or traveling? Okay, here you are:

• It's fast and doesn't take as much time!

• Less dishes to do! Because we all know that doing dishes while camping without a sink is no fun!

• It's a fun activity to do with family and friends. On the mornings of our camping trips, when we have time to make and enjoy a family breakfast, I invite my kids to make their breakfast burrito. They love to chop veggies, beat eggs and wrap their own burritos.

• And on days when we are short of time, we can make them in advance and warm them up in the morning.

This breakfast is one of our Girl Scout camping breakfasts. We make this on the last day of our camping using all the leftovers. No wonder I said there's no single recipe for breakfast burritos. Just use your leftovers and minimize waste.

This is going to be one of our key breakfasts for our upcoming road trips. What are some of your favorite camping meals?

Rock Climbing in California - Get Ready to be inspired

"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals."

-Henry David Thoreau

No matter where you visit in the beautiful state of California you can expect to find fantastic rock climbing locations nearby. Get ready to be inspired to reach new heights exploring these incredibly breathtaking locations.

California is the land of granite peaks, rock and exposed mountains jutting out of the landscape providing extraordinary rock climbing spots for every skill level. Our search for the best of the best led us to Yosemite (Central America), Lassen National Park (Northern California), Joshua Tree National Park (Southern California) and Sierre National Forest (Eastern Sierra).
 

Photo by Sierra Mountain Center

Yosemite
Central California

Let's start with the best - Yosemite, a mecca for rock climbers. Serious rock climbers can’t resist Yosemite, even though the first glimpse of the daunting vertical walls can be intimidating, it doesn't stop them from gearing up to make the climb. Most climbing in Yosemite involves carrying and placing protection devices instead of clipping them into preplaced bolts, a technique that can take years to master. Making Yosemite less than ideal for beginners, so you'll want to beef up your rock climbing skills before taking it on.

For hands-on lessons, sign up at Yosemite Mountaineering School and Guide Service. The school holds classes and seminars for all skill levels between April and October. The classes meet on a daily basis in both Yosemite Valley and Tuolumne Meadows, and equipment rentals are available.

If you'd rather just watch the action instead of actually doing it yourself, head to El Capitan Meadow. Sit back in a camp chair and scan the face of massive El Capitan for the distant climbers scaling it’s impossibly sheer face. This 3,593-foott/1,095-meter rock face was first successfully scaled in the 1950’s, and since then many other bold adventurers have climbed their way to the top. The majority of the climbers make the climb in three to five days, spending their nights sleeping on ledges or tethered into hammocks (watch for the shimmer of headlamps as they turn in for the night). Professional rock climbers Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson made history in January 2015 when they became the first to free climb El Capitan's Dawn Wall, long considered the most difficult rock climb in the world.

Lassen National Park
Northern California

Located near Redding, California, this park boasts an incredible 10,000-foot volcanic dome and a variety of awesome crags that offer fantastic rock climbing. The park's largest crag is referred to as "Bellybutton", because it has plenty of cracks that provide great footing as high up as 165 feet. The Lassen Peak Trail is a great place for scenic hiking. And the hot springs in the park are the perfect place for chilling out after a strenuous day of climbing or hiking.  

Photo by Sierra Mountain Center

Joshua Tree National Park
Southern California

Located in the high desert, Joshua Tree is a world class rock climbing destination loaded with over 8,000 climbing trails, more than 400 formations, and vertical rock climbing surfaces for all experience levels. If you prefer to take a lesson or a guide, you may want to look into Vertical Adventures Rock Climbing School.

Photo by Joshua Tree National Park

Sierra National Forest
The Eastern Sierra

Located on the eastern edge of the Sierra National Forest you’ll find a number of areas recognized for world-class rock climbing. The Rock Creek Canyon features excellent 9,000-foot granite walls located near Mt. Abbot's peak.

In the Lakes Basin, Horseshoe Slabs, a popular climbing spot with amazing granite walls also at 9,000 feet, is ideal for late summer/early fall climbing. For bouldering fanatics, check out Deadman's with it’s main cliff that's more than 30 feet tall. For the novices, myself included, there's Iris Slab, the perfect place to work on your climbing skills. 

Sierra Mountain Center, one of the great mountaineering schools, provides lessons and guides in the Eastern Sierra of California.  

Photo by Sierra Mountain Center

If you're not sure where to get started, click here for some of California's best rock climbing locations 

Experience Kayaking at Elkhorn Slough

"Always keep your eyes open. Keep watching. Because whatever you see can inspire you." 

-Grace Coddington

Do you love holidays that involve water sports and activities? Then you should consider Elkhorn Slough where it is especially kayaking that are attracting a lot of tourists annually. The area around Elkhorn Slough is not only suitable for kayaking and paddle boarding but it also offers opportunities for birding photography and wildlife viewing. It is a veritable wildlife heaven and a habitat to a wide variety of different types of wildlife. Therefore kayaking enthusiasts not only practice their beloved sport but they experience wildlife on a whole new level. Many visitors start their tour at Moss Landing when they are faced with two options to either rent a kayak or to join one of the well-organized guided tours such as Kayak Connection which provides rentals, tours and lessons. This will be followed by a bit of paddling through the state marine reserve which are literally crawling with wildlife.

Photo by Kayak Connection

 
In this particular area people will find a large otter population and there will also be various other kinds of wildlife such as pelicans, sea lions and even seals. Exactly how far you would like to go is something, which has to be decided by each individual, but most people will do between two and 6 miles. For those who are not used to long kayaking trips, it is possible to catch the shuttle back to Moss Landing but for the more experienced kayaking professionals, most of them would prefer to row back by themselves. However, even the most enthusiastic kayaking professional has to relax sometimes and there are more than enough venues in this area to cater for most people’s needs. One such venue is Phil's Fish market which is well-known for its cioppino as well as a wide variety of seafood which can be enjoyed while people are enjoying the spectacular view.

Photo by John Ames

  Elkhorn Slough is one of the acknowledged tourist destinations in North America and it is reckoned among the top 10 destinations when it comes to wildlife viewing. Especially the area around Moss Landing has one of the largest remaining otter populations on the entire planet. For many kayaking enthusiasts it is an exhilarating experience to paddle among these amazing creatures among which is harbor seals, floating jellyfish and a very large population of migrating seabirds. One of the guarantees that could be given to any tourist who visits this area is the fact that wherever people might go with in Elkhorn Slough they are certain to spot very large quantities of wildlife.

Photo by Kimon Berlin and it's open to sharing

Photo by John Ames

 Elkhorn Slough is located about halfway between the coastal towns of Santa Cruz and Monterey. Both of these areas offer tremendous opportunities for outdoor activities such as beach, surfing, kayaking, hiking and biking. Further away about an hour drive from Elkhorn Slough, visitors may take a hiking trip to nearby Big Basin Redwoods State Park for hiking along waterfalls such as Silver Falls or Berry Creek Loop and this kind of excursion is possible throughout the year. Several waterfalls can be found in this area. The redwood trees can be found everywhere in the park and there are also a substantial number of banana slugs.

Whether you are a professional kayaking enthusiasts or an amateur you will find Elkhorn Slough an excellent destination to hone your skills while at the same time enjoying an unforgettable wildlife experience. This is truly an area that are literally teeming with all kinds of wildlife as well as a very large variety of plants and vegetation. This is an experience which you would like to repeat once you have discovered the secrets of this amazing destination. 

Photo by Kayak Connection

California & Oregon Road Trip Planning - Lassen Volcanic National Park

As I mentioned in one of my previous entries, I plan to share my research about places you might want to visit in preparation for our road trip in Northern California and Oregon. Planning a great trip takes a lot of time, and I hope these posts - this one included - will give you some helpful ideas for your next outdoors trips without taking too much of your time.

There’s no doubt that we'll be visiting Lassen Park as our first stop from the Bay Area. In Lassen Volcanic National Park, visitors get to see sizzling fumaroles, volcanoes (yes, I said volcanoes), charming meadows filled with wildflowers and crystal clear mountain lakes - sounds incredible doesn't it? Lassen Park actually has a lot of lakes, and a variety of campgrounds allow you to stay inside the park. Most incredibly, Lassen Volcanic National Park is the only place on Earth where all four types of volcano can be seen!

photo by Lassen National Park Service

Lassen Park Campgrounds

It seems some of the campgrounds (Manzanita, Summit Lake) are along the main road, and another set of campgrounds (Juniper Lake and Warner Valley) are only accessible from Chester Road rather than from the main park road. Manzanita is probably the most popular campground in the park - it is reasonably big (180 sites), has a camp store and offer some cabins! These extra services, plus a lively area with views of Mt. Lassen from parts of the lake, can make it a busy place. It has sites for RVs too. There are more services at Manzanita with store and boats and lively area with views of Mt Lassen from parts of the lake. 

Compare this to Summit Lake campgrounds, which each has a little less than 50 sites - still popular, but a lot fewer people. It is a pretty location, plenty of trees, with a place to swim off of a nice sandy beach on the north end of the lake and it isn't very busy. It’s actually considered to be remote in comparison to Manzanita Lake. 

Manzanita Lake, photo by Lassen NPS

 If we make it to Chester. . .(which makes the road trip on each end 1.5 hour longer) and to Juniper Lake, we'll get a wonderful mountain lake to swim (with water that's supposed to be crystal clear) and a nice pebbly beach. The lake is shallow for quite some distance before it starts to get deep, so it is not too cold. A short but steep hike above Juniper Lake brings you to Crystal Lake, which is great for swimming as well. Accommodation options near Juniper Lake are Juniper Lake and Warner Valley campgrounds and Drakesbad Guest Ranch which has a hot spring swimming pool to soak in and that's definitely a selling point for us! 

Because of the lack of facilities, small campgrounds and farther driving distance around Juniper Lake and Warner Valley, this area will be a lot quieter with more secluded campgrounds.

Hiking trails:

 The park offers over 150 miles of hiking trails for visitors of levels of ability. After hours of research, here are the trails that I found that would appeal to my kids. I've also included a map of the park with the suggested trails in blue oval.

 

1. Bumpass Hell is a must if you haven't visited the park before.

Start: Bumpass Hell parking lot

Round Trip Distance: 3 miles

Round Trip Time: 2 hours

Terrain: easy 300 foot descent

Elevation: 8000 feet

Bumpass Hell is the largest hydrothermal area in the park, and marks the principal area of up flow of steam and discharge from the Lassen hydrothermal system. The trail is quite easy, though the altitude (8,000 feet) can make the trail seem moderately difficult. Many argue that a trip to Lassen is not complete without a visit to Bumpass Hell, which got its name from Mr. Kendall Bumpass who unfortunately seriously burned his leg when it broke through the thin crust layering the boiling pool.

2. Boiling Springs Lake: This seems like a very interesting trail. It’s an easy gradual trail crosses through meadow and forest and around the 125 degree boiling lake. It also has some of the best mud pots in the park plus numerous trees, wildflowers and bird watching make this a must see!

Boiling Springs Lake, photo by Lassen NPS

3. Devils Kitchen: a moderate two hour round trip hike through the meadow to the head of Warner Valley, along Hot Springs Creek and into the forest to the “kitchen’s” bubbling mud pots, steam vents and boiling springs.

4. Crystal Lake: It’s a short hike from Juniper Lake. It winds through forests where there's a great swimming spot and incredible views. It’s only 0.6 miles, but it’s very steep.

For more information about all trails of the park, click here. 

Since most of these interesting trails are in the south side of the park, I guess we're going to stay at Juniper Lake or Warner Valley campsites though they add 2 to 3 hours to our driving (and we don’t enjoy long car rides that much!). But for the experience of seeing mud pots and boiling, steaming lakes, we are going to make the effort! What’s nice about Warner Valley is that it’s only, first come - first serve which means we don’t need to make a reservation ahead of time. We wish we could have stayed at Drakesbad and enjoy its hydrothermal pool and the convenience of not camping out for just 1 night (that's all we have!) but it's unfortunately booked!

Stargazing at Lassen Volcanic National Park

Half the fun of spending time at Lassen Volcanic National Park is stargazing, something that I had read is often overlooked, even with its amazing, dark, night's sky. Far from the light pollution of civilization, Lassen is one of the last remaining sanctuaries of natural darkness. Lassen's dark skies offer unparalleled views of the celestial wonders and we plan on attending one of the parks ranger led, "Starry Night" programs in the park.

Check back in to find out how our road trip vacation will turn out - I'm sure it's going to be phenomenal! 

Lassen Volcanic National Park, photo by California Travel and Tourism Commission

9 Lessons Learned in Rock Climbing (and in Life)

Recently, I came across with this TED talk video. Veteran rock climber Matthew Childs shares nine lessons learned in rock climbing that relate to the real world. Though, the speech was presented for non-climbers, Childs uses enough climbing lingoes that all outdoor enthusiasts can get the most out of.

Here are 3 of my favorite lessons: 

* Don't Let Go! Momentum is good. Don't stop. Don't give up. I've experienced this when I'm mountain biking on some steep hills and I keep reminding myself: "keep pedaling. keep the momentum. This is not the time to stop or take a break." I've also experienced it when I'm hiking with kids and they ask if we can stop and go back to the parking lot. The challenge is perhaps lack of anticipation when they don't know how long more the hike is going to take or if they're going to face more uphill.  

* Have A Plan! Perhaps, a back-up plan too! But, do yourself a favor and don't go on an adventure without a plan, without tools and preparation. And here's one of my favorite quotes from an unknown author: "If the plan doesn't work, change the plan, but never the goal."

* Fear Sucks! Fear can stop us in our tracks and hold us back. Not that I'm claiming to be a fearless outdoor enthusiast or a fearless person in general but I do remember my friends were worried about my solo trekking trip in the Alps and all I had to tell them was: "If your dreams are not scary, then they're not big enough.

Finally, I leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

"Winning isn't about finishing in first place. It isn't about beating the others. It is about overcoming yourself." 

-Killian Jornet

  

California Road Trip Planning- Whiskeytown Lake

The National Recreation Area says "Whiskeytown is More Than a Beautiful Lake", I can attest to the quote as true! Waterfalls, hiking trails, and some of the most beautiful country in California you'll ever see in your lifetime.  

Photo take by Prayitno Photography

The clear blue waters of Whiskeytown Lake are surrounded by prominent mountain peaks with stunning waterfall -- creating the best mountain creeks for fishing. The absolute best camping, swimming, hiking, and fishing in all of California.

There are over 38,000 acres surrounding 4 waterfalls, mountain creeks and over 70 miles of mountain trails.  Plus, it's the center of the California Gold Rush area. You can pan for gold in "them thar' rivers".

That's one of our plans when we visit Whiskeytown in our road trip. The kids and I want to find our pot of gold while we take in the majestic mountains and watch the wild animals' commune with Mother Nature.

Our first venture will be to try out some of the water sports that range from kayaking, sailing, fishing, swimming and water-skiing on the lake. There are 2.5-hour free kayak programs available to book in advance and not to be missed!

From there, we’ll hit the trails for some hiking. Of course, we’d like to take in all 4 waterfalls, but that's a lot of hiking through the woods. Click here for all of its trail information. We'll be bringing along our mountain bikes to take some of the steeper trails and cover more trails. And, who can resist the thrill of downhill rides? Whiskeytown is known for some of the best mountain biking in the area and its epic Lemurian Shasta Classic Mountain Bike Race.

There is so much to do while visiting the area. You can camp, picnic or take an RV and park in the RV Park. The swimming in the lake is around Brandy Creek Swim Area, which is about 10 miles from Redding. So, if you don't want to camp out, you can always stay at the hotels in and around Redding. Jet skis are prohibited on Whiskeytown Lake, but you can take your small craft and fish all day long.

The swimming beach is also where you can see Glory Hole. Glory Hole is the water output for the lake. Although, in recent years, the water level has been so low, you may not be able to see the water rushing out of the lake.

If you're a stargazer, Whiskeytown, CA is a great place to view our wonderful galaxy. You can take part in one of free ranger-led astronomy or star party programs to see constellations and learn about the demigods who were immortalized in the stars. There are classic tales of heroes, as well as a look into deep space on the powerful telescope.  You can watch the night stars without any pollution or lights of the city to bar their viewing. It's much better than watching TV!

When you need to enhance your vacation, some of the nearby attractions are close by.   You can visit:

Mount Shasta - is a single peak in the Cascade chain, with a height of 14,179 feet. Rising 11,000 feet from the surrounding valley, it dominates the landscape of northern California. It presents a thousand different faces, inspires great awe and respect, and beckons all to view it from every possible perspective.

Shasta-Trinity National Forest – is nearby for more hiking and camping.  Here you can take in glaciers, lakes and alpine meadows teaming with wildlife and wild flower filled fields.

Redwood National and State Parks – don't miss the redwood forest. You will never see anything like these trees anywhere in the world. It's a bit of a travel, but it's more than worth the effort of a day trip. 

Grab the kids, some food, and take a trip to Whiskeytown, CA for a relaxing day of fun, frolic, and fantastic scenery.

A Note of Interest: Whiskeytown is the only area with the phantom orchid (Cephalanthera austiniae). These beauties are all white and devoid chlorophyll. They can't make energy for themselves, but rely on symbiotic mycorrhizae for its nutrition.