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!

While driving through Sundial Bridge Dr, I saw a sign that says "Monolith". I had no idea what it…read moreis. We made a stop to check it out. It is located next to Sheraton hotel. Remains of Shasta Dam that was converted into art pieces. Learned a bit about the history of Redding during this quick stop. Free to explore and browse. Free parking as well.

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.

I was having lunch with my parents today at our usual pizza spot, shout out Stark Street Pizza, and…read morewe were talking about all the times we would drive to Tahoe years ago. This prompted me to ask my parents if they remembered ever seeing the Truck Village. They said they had not. We all found that interesting. As I stated in my previous review, I used to drive I-5 from Portland, OR to San Francisco, CA somewhat frequently. On my way home to Portland I would pull off Exit 743 North, just south of Weed, CA, and have a bite of my packed lunch and admire the vividly painted water trucks that are neatly parked in a perfect display for passers by. The view heading south on I-5 isn't as good. I did some internet sleuthing on this matter. It seems that the provenance of these trucks and where the name "Rainbow Drive" the road you follow to the gate is beyond my ability to attain. The earliest mention of it is on an online travel message board back in 2006. I was making the drive in 2010-2011. The most recent post was 2023. This iconic roadside attraction is mysterious indeed. 2024 - Review # 23

Just love these colorful trucks all lined up! Look forward to this welcome to CA several times a…read moreyear as we go to/from WA state. Thanks for the eye candy! Ps. I have never bought a water truck but if I did I would think if this place first

Meh..The place is heavily graffitied and smells like urine. I got a very disturbing and somewhat…read moreevil vibe from the place. Your GPS may take you off an unpaved dirt road - glad we had a 4 wheel drive truck, about .4 miles to where you will see a sign for 'Plutos' Cave' and another dirt rood offshoot behind the sign with a lowered gate behind it. DON'T GO THAT WAY. Look around the little parking area for a path with rocks painted white on either side. THAT path will take you to the cave. Some smart person also painted several rocks white on the path to the cave. Look for those as there are several path offshoots.

I would not consider putting Pluto's cave on your bucket list, but if you are in the area it is a…read morecool place to check out. It is not really a place you want to take the kids, more like a place for people with no children that want to experience a spooky experience. The caves are definitely filled with human negative energy. We did not stay long, we just checked them out from a distance, but did not go actually in to the deeper section. This is more like for a group of 3 or more.

A guided tour of Lake Shasta Cavern. You can get tickets online or in person inside their gift…read moreshop. Tour included boat ride to the bus, bus ride to the cavern. Inside the cave, there are so many different rock formations. Each section, our tour guide gave many interesting facts and information. Be prepared to walked through hundreds and hundreds of stairs. Up and down. Some can be pretty steep and slippery. The ground inside were mostly wet and muddy. I will recommend wearing comfy shoes, hiking shoes, closed toes shoes or any shoes you don't mind getting tons of muds on it. It can get chilly inside the cave, so bring a jacket just in case. At the end of the tour, you get a chance to take pictures with the beautiful colorful formations. Once the tour is done, you will walk back to the bus stop to get a ride back to the boat. The boat will then take you back to the starting point. Plenty of parking. There are restrooms to use.

Dog-Friendly Adventure!…read more Lake Shasta Caverns was the perfect stop on our road trip from Portland to San Francisco! We were thrilled to discover it's dog-friendly and our pup loved every minute of it. The location is ideal for a midway break, and late May weather was absolutely beautiful. We arrived 30 minutes early and found parking easily. The gift shop kept us entertained while we waited, and the boat ride across the lake set the perfect tone for what was to come. But the real star? The caverns themselves. The natural beauty and the opportunity to explore with my dog made this feel truly special. Fair WARNING: you will get your steps in! The climb to the cathedral room is steep, and my partner and I, who are gym-goers with an active dog, definitely felt it. That said, the views (and the bats!) absolutely make it worth it. I noticed some older visitors and those recovering from knee surgery opted out, and a few families with small children were cautious on the descent, so know what you're signing up for. The walk back down requires careful footing so please take your time and watch your step. The tour guide wasn't as polished as I'd hoped and leaned a bit too playful for our taste, but honestly? You're paying for the scenery, not the commentary. And yes, it's pricey, but it genuinely feels like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Overall, worth every penny and every step. Highly recommend!

I have known about the Sundial Bridge for a very long time but never took the opportunity to check…read moreit out. My boyfriend and I wanted to do a little getaway to celebrate our anniversary. We decided on Redding since I have never been there. We wanted to check out the Sundial Bridge during daytime and nighttime. Very cool and beautiful bridge. The walkway is made of glass panels. Nighttime, the bridge lights up. Easy pathway to walk through. The bridge crosses over the Sacramento River. Plenty of parking. No parking fee. No admission fee to walk across the bridge.

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.

After exploring Lake Shasta Cavern, we stopped by to check out Shasta Dam. Free to park and visit…read more There is a visitor center. Inside the visitor center, there is a restroom :) You can see Mount Shasta from a distance. What a view! Looking down from the dam was really scary. Do so at your own risk. I had to hold my phone very steady to snap a photo from above. I am afraid of heights but the dam did look nice from the top center of the dam. A nice stroll from end to end.

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.

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.

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.

An original town in Shasta County…read more This historic park houses the remains of Shasta City, once alive and bustling during the Gold Rush days, and now a ghost town with restored stagecoach, barn and courthouse. Due to Covid-19 the museum is temporarily closed but we stopped and walked among the Southside Ruins, strolling and stopping to read the markers and interpretive signs at the brick ruins, imagining for a moment what it was like in 1849. The authentic brick buildings have crumbled and are the decayed remnants of a once thriving gold rush shopping district. Across the street is an open picnic grounds with lots of picnic benches under shady trees. The park hours sign read: open from Sunrise to Sunset. The temperatures here reached over 100° F this past weekend and is probably like this every summer so take extra water. We did not see the cemetery. We hope to return again someday to explore and learn more. Easy access. The park is six miles west of downtown Redding and Highway 299 passes through the town's Main Street. Review #1910