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

This recreation area is located in the hills west of Redding, California. I'd never heard of it…read moreuntil we took a different route back from the Humboldt region, back down to SoCal. It was scenic, there's lots of different lakes that dot the area. It's really pretty. People come here for boating, swimming, and hiking up to the waterfalls. Theres also water sports and camping in the summer months.

Excellent park, beautiful nature, everything is well-maintained. Highly recommend! Beautifulread more

This was a fun little place to bring the kids. The place was fairly clean and well kept.read more

Took my great nice, who had a blast. Running back and forth between the two levels of jungle gyms…read moreand swing area.

A nice stroll around the park after checking out the Sundial Bridge. During our visit, they had a…read moreGlowing Wild lights event. Not a free admission to the event. Plenty of things to do and see for both adults and kids. Walking around the park was fun and refreshing. Some trails did not have much shades so it got really hot. Free parking, Plenty of spaces.

Enjoy a relaxing exceptional cuisine on patio at DeVine Restaurant overlooking Sacramento River…read more After a tiramisu dessert & coffee take an evening stroll just in time to catch the sunset. A perfect day with loved ones.

Sacred Headwaters of the Sacramento River. Clean, pure, amazing drinking water for all. Wonderful…read morecommunity and people. Fun times!

It's a beautiful place to access the 50-year-old water spring. A lot of people come here to fill…read moretheir water containers.

Looking for a nearby place for a walk in Dunsmuir, our hotel let us know of a nice place they often…read morewalked in. It took us a while to find it, driving on a skinny road down a hill, crossing some railroad tracks, driving down a narrow country road (River Road), going under Highway 5 - and then finally coming to the parking lot for Tauhindauli Park. Bordering the Sacramento river, this is a lovely little park. It has a paved walking path that delightfully circles through a variety of lovely wildflowers (in June) combined with a numbered self-guided tour. There are beautiful close up views of the Sacramento river, and the river was raging with new snowmelt. A side path leads to the Dunsmuir Botanical Gardens. We also ran into a friendly local that was walking her dog and filled us in on the history of the park. The Dunsmuir Garden Club deserves a lot of credit for their work in spearheading the creation of this tiny gem of a park.

This terrific area of BLM land has quickly become a favorite of mine…read more It's filled with hiking trails among beautiful oak trees, fields of wildflowers in spring, and is situated along the Sacramento River. The Paynes Creek Wetlands are also in this area, which brings a variety of migratory birds. The trails are also dog-friendly and mixed use - I've seen both equestrians and mountainbikers - but very lightly trafficked. Signage is light so I recommend having a map handy. I come here in particular for backpacking. The Yana Trail to Massacre Flat is an enjoyable seasonal hike, and the ability to camp overlooking the river is just plain awesome.

From the guest services to the camp host this place has excellent amenities and staff. Very clean…read moreand well maintained facilities. The hike to the Crags is a once in a lifetime experience that if you are able to do you should not miss. Beautiful great views of Shasta and Lassen from the top of the Dome at the Crags. Be well rested, hydrated and prepared as it is a hefty hike. Also get to the trail head parking lot early as it fill up quickly! Thank you Christina and Woody!

I spent the past four nights here, and it was very quiet, dark, and peaceful…read more Quiet with the caveat that there was a TON of train noise. But if you like white noise, that might be a plus. This was the darkest campground I've ever camped at so far. The view of the stars was great. The cold was on another level. I wouldn't recommend tent camping unless you really know what you're doing. Theoretically, this campground has free showers, but they are closed for the season. I couldn't help but notice that the windows have been broken into and boarded back up. There was theoretically potable water, but it tasted a little funky. Most of the pumps were broken, which made it seem like maybe the rest are about to be determined to be broken soon. There was an electric outlet in the bathroom with a sign warning not to leave personal items. In site 25, which is reserved for PCT hikers, I found another sign warning that items are frequently stolen from the bathrooms, and to use the outlets hidden in the amphitheater instead. (There is also a Starbucks about fifteen minutes away in Shasta.) A trail behind site 25 leads to the PCT, but the trail was currently full of fallen trees and hazards. Another trail near Vista Point turned out to be a safer route to the PCT. A 2 mile trail leads from the campground to Vista Point, where you can either keep hiking, or take in the panoramic views of Mt. Shasta, Castle Crags, and the Gray Rocks. I chose site 38 to camp in, which was at the end of the line of sites that are currently open. The first two nights, I paid with the self serve envelope. The rest I purchased from the Ranger Station. Camping was only $25/night, half off with qualifying passes. So it only cost me $50 to stay here 4 nights. The spaces on the main road were huge, and very well spaced. There was a camp host on duty on site 20, and maintenance came through every day to clean the restrooms and empty the trash. I didn't see much wildlife except for a lot of birds. Wildflowers were just beginning to bloom on the trails. There isn't much to do near the campground, but I found this to be a great place to have some relative peace and quiet for a few days.

Quaint aka very small park located along the Sacramento River. Quiet, scenic, and well maintained…read morewith two public bathrooms on prem. We enjoyed a nice outdoor lunch here en route and this park is located conveniently off the 5. The park ranger was friendly and on-duty when we were here too. Plenty of parking too. Definitely a nice outdoor lunch, restroom break, or doggy walk spot when passing through Red Bluff.

Very clean and quiet lots of shade and no homeless sleeping in bushes very well maintained and the…read morefishing is lightweight alright, the trail to the river has lots of Bees so be careful

The park is an amazing hidden treasure that everyone should check out. Wonderful nonprofit with…read morecommunity-minded employees and board members. The annual Fall Splendor event in October has the best night of drinks, food and dancing you can get in Humboldt. Check them out at www.sohumpark.org.

Beautiful park with wonderful trails, a labyrinth, CSA Farm with chickens and horses, wooded areas,…read moreand a children's park with river access across the way. Great for bicycling, walking your leashed dogs, eating a pinic lunch under the trees, or a lovely walk on flat land. There is also a discreet trail to Benbow about 2+ miles away.