The Far North

We’ve compiled the best of the best in The Far North - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.

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  • 1. Castle Crags State Park

    Named for its 2,000–6,500-foot glacier-polished crags, formed by volcanic activity centuries ago, this park offers fishing on the upper Sacramento River, hiking in the backcountry, and a view of Mt. Shasta. The 4,350-acre park has 28 miles of trails, including a 2¾-mile access trail to Castle Crags Wilderness, part of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The excellent trails at lower altitudes include the ¼-mile Vista Point Trail (near the entrance), which leads to views of Castle Crags and Mt. Shasta.

    20022 Castle Creek Rd., Castella, California, 96017, USA
    530-235–2684

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: $10 per vehicle, day-use
  • 2. Lake Shasta Caverns National Natural Landmark

    Stalagmites, stalactites, flowstone deposits, and crystals entice visitors to the Lake Shasta Caverns. To see this impressive spectacle, you must take the two-hour tour, which includes a catamaran ride across the McCloud arm of Lake Shasta and a bus ride up North Grey Rocks Mountain to the cavern entrance. The temperature in the caverns is 58°F year-round, making them a cool retreat on a hot summer day. The most awe-inspiring of the limestone rock formations is the glistening Cathedral Room, which appears to be gilded.  In summer, it's wise to purchase tickets online a day or more ahead of your visit.

    20359 Shasta Caverns Rd., Lakehead, California, 96051, USA
    530-238–2341

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: $40
  • 3. McArthur–Burney Falls Memorial State Park

    Just inside this park's southern boundary, Burney Creek wells up from the ground and divides into two falls that cascade over a 129-foot cliff into a pool below. Countless ribbon-like streams pour from hidden moss-covered crevices; resident bald eagles are frequently seen soaring overhead. You can walk a self-guided nature trail that descends to the foot of the falls, which Theodore Roosevelt—according to legend—called "the eighth wonder of the world." On warm days, swim at Lake Britton; lounge on the beach; rent motorboats, paddleboats, and canoes; or relax at one of the campsites or picnic areas.

    24898 Hwy. 89, Burney, California, 96013, USA
    530-335–2777

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: $10 per vehicle, day-use
  • 4. Mt. Shasta

    The crown jewel of the 2½-million-acre Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Mt. Shasta, a 14,179-foot-high dormant volcano, is a mecca for day hikers. It's especially enticing in spring, when fragrant Shasta lilies and other flowers adorn the rocky slopes. A paved road, the Everitt Memorial Highway, reaches only as far as the timberline; the final 6,000 feet are a strenuous climb of rubble, ice, and snow (the summit is perpetually ice-packed). Hiking enthusiasts include this trek with those to the peaks of Kilimanjaro and Mt. Fuji in lists of iconic must-do mountain hikes. Always check weather predictions; sudden storms—with snow and freezing temperatures—have trapped climbers.

    Mt. Shasta, California, 96067, USA
  • 5. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company

    This pioneer of the microbrewery movement still has a hands-on approach to beer making. The Brewhouse Tour surveys production—from sorting hops through fermentation and bottling—and concludes with a tasting. The Beyond the Pale Tour delves even deeper into creating craft beers, Sierra Nevada's history, and the company's sustainability initiatives.

    1075 E. 20th St., Chico, California, 95928, USA
    530-345–2739-taproom

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Tours (includes tasting) from $9, No tours Mon. and Tues. (bar and restaurant open daily)
  • Recommended Fodor’s Video

  • 6. Turtle Bay Exploration Park

    This peaceful downtown park has 300 acres of walking trails, an aquarium, an arboretum and botanical gardens, and many interactive exhibits for kids. The main draw is the stunning Santiago Calatrava–designed Sundial Bridge, a metal and translucent glass pedestrian walkway, suspended by cables from a single tower and spanning a broad bend in the Sacramento River. On sunny days the 217-foot tower lives up to the bridge's name, casting a shadow on the ground below to mark time. Access to the bridge and some trails is free, but the museum and gardens charge admission.

    844 Sundial Bridge Dr., Redding, California, 96001, USA
    530-243–8850

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Museum $18, gardens $5 suggested, Museum closed Mon. and Tues. (except holidays) early Sept.–Apr.
  • 7. Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway

    The byway is a 500-mile scenic drive connecting Lassen with Oregon's Crater Lake National Park. The route's southern loop begins in Chester and winds for about 185 miles through the forests, volcanic peaks, hydrothermal springs, and lava fields of Lassen National Forest and Lassen Volcanic National Park. The all-day excursion into dramatic wilderness includes a detour north to 129-foot-tall Burney Falls. Note, though, that the Dixie Fire of 2021 scorched the forested areas along Highway 36 and Lassen National Park Highway near Chester.

    California, USA

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: In most yrs, snow closes parts of the byway from mid-fall to mid-spring
  • 8. Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park

    Weaverville's main attraction is the Joss House, a Taoist temple built in 1874 and called Won Lim Miao ("the temple of the forest beneath the clouds") by Chinese miners. The oldest continuously used Chinese temple in California, it attracts worshippers from around the world. With its golden altar, antique weaponry, and carved wooden canopies, the Joss House is a piece of California history best appreciated on a guided 30-minute tour.

    630 Main St., Weaverville, California, 96093, USA
    530-623–5284

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Museum free; guided tour $5, Closed Mon.–Wed.
  • 9. Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park

    Built between 1865 and 1868 by General John Bidwell, the founder of Chico, this mansion was designed by Henry W. Cleaveland, a San Francisco architect. Bidwell and his wife, Annie, welcomed many distinguished guests to their pink Italianate home, including President Rutherford B. Hayes, naturalist John Muir, suffragist Susan B. Anthony, and General William T. Sherman. One-hour tours take in most of the three-story mansion's 26 rooms.

    525 Esplanade, Chico, California, 95926, USA
    530-895–6144

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: $6, Closed Mon., Tues., Thurs., and Fri.
  • 10. Bidwell Park

    The 3,670-acre park straddles Big Chico Creek, where scenes from Gone With the Wind (1939) and Robin Hood (1938), starring Errol Flynn, were filmed. The region's recreational hub has a golf course; "the best urban swimming holes in California"; and biking, hiking, horseback riding, and skating trails. Chico Creek Nature Center serves as the official information site.

    1968 E. 8th St., Chico, California, 95928, USA
    530-891–4671

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Park free, nature center $4, Nature center closed Tues.–Fri. (but check)
  • 11. Bizz Johnson Trail

    This trail follows a defunct line of the Southern Pacific Railroad for 25 miles. Known to locals as the Bizz, the trail is open for hikers, walkers, mountain bikers, horseback riders, and cross-country skiers. It skirts the Susan River through a scenic landscape of canyons, bridges, and forests abundant with wildlife.

    601 Richmond Rd., Susanville, California, 96130, USA
    530-257–0456

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Free
  • 12. Chico Museum

    Immerse yourself in all things Chico at this small but engaging museum near Chico State University. Past exhibits have surveyed the city's American Indian legacy, its former Chinatowns, and area movers and shakers.

    141 Salem St., Chico, California, 95928, USA
    530-891–4336

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: $5, Closed Mon.–Wed.
  • 13. Hal Goodyear Historical Park

    For a vivid sense of Weaverville's past, visit this outdoor park of old mining equipment, and step inside the adjacent Jake Jackson Memorial Museum. A blacksmith shop and a stamp mill (where ore is crushed) from the 1890s are still in use during certain community events.

    780 Main St., Weaverville, California, 96093, USA
    530-623–5211

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Museum closed various days early Sept.–late May, Free
  • 14. Lake Shasta

    Created when Shasta Dam corralled the Sacramento River in the 1940s, Lake Shasta evolved into a habitat for numerous types of fish, including rainbow trout, salmon, bass, brown trout, and catfish. The region also supports a large nesting population of bald eagles. You can rent houseboats, fishing boats, ski boats, sailboats, canoes, paddleboats, Jet Skis, and windsurfing boards at marinas and resorts along the 370-mile shoreline.

    Shasta Lake, California, 96019, USA
  • 15. Moseley Family Cellars

    The Moseleys make their wines in Redding and present them downtown, but the grapes come from vineyards as far afield as Napa, Sonoma, Lodi, and Oregon's Rogue Valley. There's usually a Chardonnay, and the reds include Pinot Noir, old-vine Zinfandel, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The tasting room, in an area emerging as a mini wine hub, occupies one of Redding's oldest residences.

    1448 Pine St., Redding, California, 96001, USA
    530-229–9463

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Tastings $10, Closed Mon. and Tues.
  • 16. Museum of Northern California Art

    The Veterans Memorial Building, a handsome 1927 Classical Revival structure designed by a local architectural firm, houses this engaging museum of contemporary art. The focus is on works by artists from San Jose north to Oregon.

    900 Esplanade, Chico, California, 95926, USA
    530-487–7272

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: $5, Closed Mon.–Wed.
  • 17. National Yo-Yo Museum

    Spanning multiple decades, this yo-yo collection occupies the back of a toy and novelty shop. If you've ever aspired to Walk the Dog or venture Around the World, you'll find the museum a diverting brief stop. Highlights include the 256-pound No-Jive 3-in-1 yo-yo and comedian Tom Smothers's collection.

    320 Broadway, Chico, California, 95928, USA
    530-893–0545

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Free
  • 18. New Clairvaux Vineyard

    History converges in fascinating ways at this winery and vineyard, whose tale involves pioneer-rancher Peter Lassen (Mt. Lassen is named for him), railroad baron Leland Stanford, newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, the Napa Valley's five-generation Nichelini wine-making family, and current owners the Trappist-Cistercian monks. In the 1890s, the rambling redbrick tasting room, erected by Stanford, stored 2 million gallons of wine. These days the hosts pour Albariño, Viognier, Tempranillo, Barbera, Syrah, and other small-lot bottlings from grapes mostly grown nearby. The on-site chapel (the Hearst connection) has a convoluted story all its own. A second tasting room in downtown Redding was scheduled to open before the end of 2023.

    26240 7th St., California, 96092, USA
    530-839–2434

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Tastings $10
  • 19. Olive Pit

    Three generations of the Craig family run this combination café and store, where you can learn about California olive production and purchase olive products, craft beers, small-lot wines, and artisanal foods. Sandwich selections at the café include muffulettas and messy-good olive burgers. Tickle your palate with a balsamic shake in flavors that include peach, fig, coconut, strawberry, and chocolate.

    2156 Solano St., California, 96021, USA
    530-824–4667
  • 20. Shasta Dam

    Road-trippers traveling along I–5 often stop at the second-largest concrete dam in the United States—only Grand Coulee in Washington is bigger than Shasta Dam, completed in 1945. The visitor center's 20-minute film and exhibits explain the engineering and construction, but even if the facility isn't open, the photogenic view north to snowcapped Mt. Shasta makes the dam worth the detour. The landmark's history-laden guided tours were set to resume by 2024.

    16349 Shasta Dam Blvd., Shasta Lake, California, 96019, USA
    530-247–8555

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Free, Visitor center closed Wed. and Thurs. (but check)

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