Mount Shasta

Standing tall in the southern end of the Cascades Mountains is the second tallest peak in the Cascade Volcanic Arc, Mount Shasta at 14,179 feet above sea level. Twenty major Volcanoes rise into the sky along this stretch from British Columbia to northern California and Mount Shasta is certainly one of the highlights.

When we first set eyes on Mount Shasta it reminded us of Mount St. Helens, only smaller. Possibly the way it looked prior to the 1980 eruption. There are many spiritual beliefs that surround Mount Shasta which date back to early Native Americans. Some believe the mountain possesses healing powers and that there is even a hidden city under the mountain with “higher-dimensional beings”. Although we didn’t experience any significant spiritual effects during our visit, we did get the sense that this is a place with some sort of vortex that captured the 1960’s and didn’t let go of it. Let’s just say there are some interesting people in these parts and leave it at that.

At the base of the mountain is the small California town that is the namesake of the mountain. We enjoyed hanging out in the main street district and found that there are plenty of good places to eat as well. Yaks Shack is a must stop for a great burger and some people watching on their (dog friendly) patio. It seemed like there was a cool restaurant or brewery around every corner, but there’s only so much a person can eat or drink in a day.

We stayed just about eight miles south of Mount Shasta in the small town of Dunsmuir at Railroad Park RV Resort. The RV park is part of the resort that has real railroad car lodging. Yes, you can sleep in a caboose that has been renovated into a lodging room. How cool is that! You can also have a pretty good dinner in the Dining Car Restaurant where you can almost feel like you’re chugging along down the tracks. We were even fortunate enough to meet the mayor while having an after-dinner cocktail in the bar. The mayor aka “Big Dave” told us about their upcoming 100-year anniversary celebration of Babe Ruth playing in their local baseball field. Who’d’ve thunk that!

Our visit to Mount Shasta was relatively short and the weather was unseasonably hot during this late July week. There were also some major forest fires in the area so visibility went from really good to very poor depending on the atmospheric conditions. Although the conditions modified our plans somewhat, we were still able to experience many of the really cool things to see in the area.

Everett Memorial Highway

The best way to see the mountain is to get on it. This two lane road winds 14-miles up the mountain once the winter snow melts. It’s a beautiful drive with plenty of places to pull over and take in the views. There’s a large parking area at the end of the road at the Ski Bowl area where you are at about 9,000 feet. Here you can get out and walk around and enjoy the mountain you are on and the incredible views below. There are several trailheads for moderate to hard hikes along the road as well. I didn’t get a chance to hike any of these but we did do some less strenuous hikes in other parts of the area.

McCloud Falls

A little east of Mount Shasta off of Highway 89 is a short loop road that takes you to the Upper, Middle and Lower McCloud Falls. This is a popular area for the younger crowd to hang out or do some jumping off of the cliffs into the water, especially at the Lower Falls. Although there’s a trail that connects all three falls, you can also drive to each one and take just a short walk/hike to see them that way. All three are unique and it’s a great way to easily see three waterfalls in one shot. We even found a portion of the river to let the dogs go for a little swim.

Mossbrae and Hedge Creek Falls

So how do you follow up a triple waterfall treat day? Well, by a double waterfall day of course! We heard a lot about Mossbrae Falls so we put it on our “must do” list. The challenge, however, is that there is no legitimate way to get to the falls without trespassing on private property. The “trail” starts out going through the property of a local spa and then traverses 3 miles back and forth along a railroad right-of-way. However, there’s an alternate way that takes two-thirds of the railway hike out of the equation plus adds another waterfall, Hedge Creek Falls… but there’s a twist. First off, the short hike to Hedge Creek Falls is very nice and you can even get behind this waterfall, so super cool. Continuing the trail just a bit further gets you to the Sacramento River… which you must cross. We found a calm spot and crossed the knee deep ice cold water to the other side, traversing across slippery rocks the entire way. We handled it well but were numb from the knees down.

The trail then leads to the railroad track and I’ll have to admit, this was a little intimidating. There’s not a lot of room between the tracks and the steep embankment. Fortunately, there were no trains while we were hiking along the tracks. After a short distance we came to Mossbrae Falls. Wow! Water cascades down the entire side of the cliff across moss and other greenery. It is absolutely magnificent and we had it all to ourselves. The city is working on funding for a formal trail to the falls, so this might become easier in the future, but this was well worth every step of the unique effort to get there for us.

Lake Siskiyou

A drive around Lake Siskiyou makes for an enjoyable time. The small local lake is popular for kayaking and swimming and provides some great views of Mount Shasta along the way. There is even a trail that encircles the entire lake. You can take the entire trek or just stop at various spots along the way to access the lake. The coolest spot on the lake is the pedestrian bridge. It provides a great vantage point and access to a small serene cove.

Heart Lake and Castle Lake

Several miles and just over 2,000 feet further up from Lake Siskiyou is beautiful Castle Lake. There are no views of Mount Shasta from the near side of the lake but it’s a nice little spot with tall peaks on the far side. Those peaks on the other side is the destination of the Heart Lake trail and an amazing vantage point. This 3-mile trail gains over 800 feet in elevation so it’s pretty steep. Heart Lake is just on the other side of the first peak and it was like coming to a little oasis when I reached it. I hiked this early in the morning and there were tons of Steller’s Jays frolicking about around the lake.

Taking the trail just a little bit further gets you to the highest point and normally an amazing view of Mount Shasta. Unfortunately after two days of very clear skies, the smoke rolled in and there was no sign of the 14,000-foot peak in the distance. However, if I hadn’t known the mountain was out there this still would be a five-star hike, high above Castle Lake.

Castle Crags State Park

Castle Crags State Park is a nice spot with camping and hiking trails, but the main attraction is the 170-million-year-old, 6000-feet tall granite spires, called crags. It was late in the day so we weren’t interested in hiking, so we bypassed the pay gate to the park and continued down the pothole infested Castle Creek Road. After several miles we were able to get great views of the castle crags. I can’t imagine the views in the park being any better than this.

Mount Shasta, the town and the surrounding area make for a fun and enjoyable stop. It’s not a national park so things tend to be a bit more rustic and raw, with a unique local vibe. It’s a place we can see ourselves coming back to visit again… albeit when it’s a little cooler and less smoky.

Be sure to check our all of our pictures from the Mount Shasta area.