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Access, Facilities, and Supplies

As transportation alternatives are fairly limited in this area, the private automobile remains the easiest mode of getting to the trailheads. Both Redding and Eureka have limited commercial airline service and rental cars available at their respective airports (tinyurl.com/reddingairport, flyhumboldt.org). Amtrak’s Coast Starlight train stops in Redding, Dunsmuir, and Yreka, where rental cars are available. Greyhound offers bus service between Arcata and Redding.

Highways, Cities, and Towns

Redding, Eureka, and Yreka are the closest cities of any substantial size to the areas covered in this guide. The small town of Weaverville is the point of departure for many of the trips in the Trinity Alps. The even smaller community of Etna serves the same purpose for most trips into the Russian Wilderness. The I-5 towns of Dunsmuir and Mount Shasta are the closest communities to trailheads in Castle Crags State Park and Castle Crags Wilderness.

CITIES AND TOWNS ALONG CA 299: REDDING TO WILLOW CREEK

Redding is a little more than 200 miles north of the San Francisco Bay Area, 160 miles from Sacramento, and 545 miles from Los Angeles. The city straddles the Sacramento River near I-5 and the junctions of CA 229 and 44. Plenty of options exist in this town of 90,000 people for motels, restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, and commercial campgrounds. The best place for backpacking and hiking gear is Hermit’s Hut at 3184 Bechelli Lane (888-507-4455, hermitshut.com). Shasta-Trinity National Forest headquarters is located in Redding at 3544 Avtech Parkway (530-226-2500, fs.usda.gov/main/stnf). The Whiskeytown Unit of Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area is 8 miles west of Redding on CA 299.

Weaverville is 45 miles west of Redding via CA 299. From Weaverville, CA 299 continues westbound toward Willow Creek and access to trailheads on the south side of the Trinity Alps, while CA 3 heads north from the center of town to access trailheads on the east side of the Trinity Alps.

Historic buildings dating from gold rush days line the main street of the quaint town, with exterior spiral staircases from arcaded sidewalks to second stories adding a charming touch. The redbrick Trinity County Courthouse, in the center of town at 11 Court St., is more than a century old. The old buildings in this part of town are filled with shops, art galleries, restaurants, and even a wine tasting room. Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park (630 Main St.; 530-623-5284, www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=457) boasts a Taoist temple that is the oldest continuously used Chinese house of worship in the state. Close by, the Jake Jackson Memorial Museum (508 Main St.; 530-623-5211, trinitymuseum.org) chronicles the early days of settlement and the subsequent mining boom.

Dogwoods and Trinity Lake

Photo: Luther Linkhart

This small town of 3,600 souls is the seat of government for Trinity County and boasts one of the few operating sawmills left in California. Weaverville’s economic health depends on recreation and tourism, and so visitors have many options for motels, restaurants, gas stations, and stores.

A pre- or post-trip meal at one of the many dining establishments lining Main Street, where CA 299 runs through town, is a common practice. Although franchises have recently spread their tentacles into the area (Burger King, Round Table, Starbucks, and Subway), plenty of independent restaurants still remain, especially in the historic section. La Casita (252 Main St.; 530-623-5797) is a tiny Mexican restaurant with a fine menu and ample portions for those with a big appetite. Another restaurant of note in the historic section of town is Red Dragon, a Chinese–Thai establishment appropriately located across from the Joss House (401 Main St.; 530-623-5370). Fresh and wholesome deli fare is available from Trinideli, just off the main drag (201 Trinity Lakes Blvd., 530-623-5856, trinideli.com). Susie’s Bakery (1260 Main St.; 503-623-5223) is the town’s traditional bakery, where you can pick up standard carbo-loading fare. Promisingly, Trailhead Pizza, whose Coffee Creek location is justifiably famous for its pies, has recently opened a restaurant on the east side of town (160 Nugget Lane; 530-623-4436).

On the east part of town is the area’s only bona fide shopping mall (housing the Burger King, Starbucks, and Subway, with Round Table directly across the street). The highlight for hikers is Holiday Market (1665 Main St.; 530-623-2494), an excellent grocery store that’s especially well stocked with a diverse assortment of food products for a town of this size. About the only thing lacking from a backpacker’s perspective is a selection of freeze-dried foods. A few doors down from the grocery store, Trinity Outdoors (1615 Main St.; 530-623-4999) specializes mainly in hunting and fishing gear but also carries a modest selection of camping and hiking supplies, along with maps, books, and clothing.

Shasta-Trinity National Forest has a district office west of the historic district on the south side of the highway, at 210 Main St. (530-623-1700). Self-issue wilderness permits, as well as information sheets about trails, campgrounds, and natural history, can be obtained from the display immediately outside the front door. During business hours you can usually get updated information from the rangers, and you can purchase relevant maps and books.

Weaverville has no commercial campgrounds in town but several good public options nearby. If you’re camping with a large group, try the USFS’s all-year East Weaver Group Campground, a couple of miles north of the airport on East Weaver Creek Road ($110 per night; water, vault toilets, picnic tables, and fire pits; 877-444-6777, recreation.gov). The Bureau of Land Management’s excellent Junction City Campground is 7 miles west of town on CA 299 ($10 per night; water, flush toilets, picnic tables, and fire pits; 534-224-2100, blm.gov). In the opposite direction on CA 299, 2.3 miles east of Douglas City, driving 4 miles on Steel Bridge Road (County Road 208) will get you to the BLM’s Steel Bridge Campground ($5 per night; vault toilets, picnic tables, and fire pits but no water; 534-224-2100, blm.gov).

Junction City, 8 miles west of Weaverville on CA 299, with fewer than 750 residents, can hardly be considered a true city. This tiny town at the confluence of Canyon Creek is the oldest settlement along the Trinity River and has the only full-fledged grocery store between Weaverville and the western Trinity Alps Trailheads. Numerous river resorts, RV parks, taverns, tackle shops, and rafting outfitters are strung out along the Trinity River downstream from Junction City, which is a noted salmon and steelhead fishery as well as river-rafting center.

Mountain Marketplace, a natural-foods store on Weaverville’s Main Street

Unless they’re coming from the coast, most Trinity Alps hikers won’t reach Willow Creek, a small town of less than 2,000 people at the junction of CA 299 and CA 96. The town does have gas stations, motels, and restaurants, and Six Rivers National Forest has a district office on CA 96, a quarter mile north of the CA 299 junction (530-629-2118).

TOWNS ALONG CA 3: WEAVERVILLE TO YREKA

Trinity Center is the only town on the shoreline of Trinity Lake, 30 miles north of Weaverville. Ending up at Wyntoon Resort instead is fairly easy if you miss the turnoff to Trinity Center, which is immediately south of the Swift Creek bridge. The present site of the town is not at all the original Trinity Centre of gold rush days, which lies beneath the waters of Trinity Lake. One of the structures moved from the original site to its current location before the lake was filled is the Odd Fellows Hall, at the corner of Scott Road and Mary Avenue. Trinity Center has the only airstrip close to the eastern Alps, along with the Trinity Center General Store (55 Scott Road; 530-266-3393), a grocery store with gas pumps. Lodging is limited to houseboat and cabins rentals. The seasonally open Scott Museum (100 Airport Road; 530-266-3378) displays an interesting collection of pioneer memorabilia. Usually open mid-May–mid-September, the Mini-Kat, just north of Trinity Center on CA 3 at the KOA Campground (530-266-3582), serves burgers and typical snack-shop fare sure to be deemed tasty after a long hike or backpack in the wilderness.

Coffee Creek is a tiny community near the junction of Coffee Creek Road and CA 3, about 40 miles north of Weaverville. Trailhead Pizza (31 Pine Lane; 530-266-3222) is immediately east of the junction, while Coffee Creek Country Store (260 S. Derrick Flat Road; 530-266-3358), a grocery and laundromat, is west of the junction a short distance down County Road 136, not far from a USFS guard station.

The very quiet community of Callahan is 3 miles north of Scott Summit and 65 miles from Weaverville. From Gazelle on I-5, Callahan is only 30 miles away on paved Forest Service Road 17. If you’re traveling from Oregon, the best route to Callahan and vicinity is via CA 3 from Yreka. About the only thing Callahan has to offer the tourist is the Callahan Emporium (12511 CA 3; 530-467-3395), an old-time general store and restaurant.

Farther north on CA 3 is the little town of Etna, which after Callahan feels like a bustling metropolis, even though fewer than 800 people live here. The lodging options in this town are limited to one small motel and a bed-and-breakfast. Fortunately the traveler has more options for grabbing a bite to eat (there’s even a brewery here). Some supplies can be obtained at the local grocery or drugstore. A complex containing a gas station, convenience store, and campground is near the junction of CA 3 and Sawyers Bar Road. Immediately northbound on CA 3 is an establishment frequented by PCT through-hikers. Dotty’s (404 N. CA 3; 530-467-3303), proudly claiming to serve “the best burgers in the state of Jefferson,” has been featured on the Food Network and in Bon Appétit magazine.

Farther north still, CA 3 terminates at I-5 in Yreka, a substantial town of fewer than 7,500 people, with all the basic services, including most fast-food restaurants, motels, gas stations, and big-box store chains.

CITIES AND TOWNS ALONG I-5: REDDING TO YREKA

Redding is described previously in the CA 299 section (see). Heading north from Redding on I-5, motorists pass Shasta Lake in the Shasta Unit of Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area. Exits lead to resorts, marinas, general stores, motels, campgrounds, and a few cafés scattered around the lakeshore.

The first town of any substance you come to past the Castella exit to Castle Crags State Park is Dunsmuir, 185 miles north of Sacramento. This quaint old town of fewer than 2,000 souls is far enough off the freeway to avoid the look and feel of a town that exists solely for the impatient traveler in need of a tank of gas or a quick bite to eat. For a town of this size, Dunsmuir boasts a number of nonfranchise restaurants well worth a visit. Café Maddelena, (5801 Sacramento Ave.; 530-235-2725, cafemaddalena.com) a block east of the main drag, is an upscale eatery serving Mediterranean cuisine. Cornerstone Cafe (5759 Dunsmuir Ave.; 530-235-4677, cornerstonedunsmuir.com) is the place for a fresh and wholesome breakfast or a satisfying lunch. Sengthong’s Blue Sky Room (5855 Dunsmuir Ave., 530-235-4470) is a combination Thai restaurant, bar, and live-music venue. Yaks (4917 Dunsmuir Ave., 530-678-3517, yaks.com) serves some of the best burgers around. Lodging is available at a handful of motels in town and a couple of nearby resorts. Vacation rentals are also an option.

A town of about 3,500 residents, Mount Shasta sits another 8 miles up I-5 from Dunsmuir. It formerly thrived on logging as its chief economic force but now depends mainly on tourism and recreation. Consequently, travelers will find plenty of gas stations, restaurants, and motels near the freeway exits and along the main road. Situated at the base of Mount Shasta, a volcano in the Cascade Range, the town has a cosmic feel that attracts a large number of spiritually minded souls. Catering to the high number of recreational enthusiasts that the area draws, the town has a couple of outdoor stores where hikers and backpackers can find almost anything they need, including mountaineering gear, at The Fifth Season (300 N. Mount Shasta Blvd.; 530-926-3606, the fifthseason.com), or Shasta Base Camp (308 S. Shasta Blvd.; 503-926-2359, shastabasecamp.com).

Car Camping and Other Recreational Facilities

Campgrounds are plentiful and well placed in this part of Northern California. The Whiskeytown Unit of Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area (NRA) has a couple of fully developed campgrounds and four primitive campgrounds. (Note that the Whiskeytown Unit was affected by the Carr Fire of 2018. Call 530-242-3400 or visit nps.gov/whis for the latest information as the area recovers.)

The best car-camping campgrounds close to the Trinity Alps are found in the Trinity Unit of Whiskeytown NRA around Trinity and Lewiston Lakes. Information sheets listing the campgrounds and their amenities are available at any ranger station, U.S. Forest Service (USFS) information station, or tourist information facility from Redding to Big Bar; you can also find more information at tinyurl.com/trinityunitcamping. At least 15 campgrounds are listed within the recreation area, but not all of them are open at all times. Most of these campgrounds charge a nightly fee.

Of course, you can do more than simply camp in the recreation area. Trinity Lake has picnicking and swimming sites scattered around its shore. A particularly fine swimming area with dressing rooms and picnic tables is immediately north of the Stuart Fork, above the lake where CA 3 crosses Stoney Creek. However, the water level is occasionally too low here to swim during dry years. Boaters can fish and water-ski on Trinity and Lewiston Lakes, and boat rentals are available at marinas.

Shasta-Trinity National Forest campgrounds, outside of the recreation area around the perimeter of the Trinity Alps, are not as developed as the recreation area campgrounds. With the exception of campgrounds on the upper section of CA 3—such as Eagle Creek, Horse Flat, and Scott Summit—these campgrounds typically receive a fair amount of use. For more information, call the forest at 530-226-2500, or visit fs.usda.gov/main/stnf (click “Recreation,” then “Camping & Cabins”).

Between the north side of the Alps and the south side of Russian Wilderness, within Klamath National Forest, several good campgrounds can be accessed from Forest Highway 93/Salmon River Road between Callahan and Cecilville. As most of the land east of Russian Wilderness is private property, no USFS campgrounds are accessible from CA 3 between Callahan and Etna. Sawyers Bar Road provides access to Idlewild Campground, the lone campground on the west side of Russian Wilderness. For more information, contact Klamath National Forest (530-842-6131, fs.usda.gov/klamath).

Castle Crags State Park (530-235-2684, www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=454) offers a number of developed campsites and a half-dozen environmental sites. Only a handful of sites are suitable for RVs, which makes the park a great place for tent campers. On the downside, the park is situated in a steep canyon of the Sacramento River near I-5 and a Southern Pacific Railroad line—the nearly constant drone of traffic and the occasional rumblings of passing trains negate any sense of being away from it all. A general store with a small café and bar immediately outside the park adds to the civilized nature of the area. Along with the excellent hiking, visitors can fish in the nearby river.

Outside of Castle Crags State Park, no-fee primitive campsites circle Castle Lake and flank Castle Creek on the north side of Castle Crags Wilderness. For more information, contact Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

Resorts, Bed-and-Breakfasts, and Pack Stations

Ownership, locations, and policies of resorts and outfitters are subject to frequent change—contact the appropriate USFS headquarters for a list of currently permitted concessionaires. I highly recommend that you begin any search for such services with the Shasta-Cascade Wonderland Association (530-365-7500, shastacascade.com). This recreation and tourism agency maintains an information center at 1699 CA 273 in Anderson, about 10 miles south of Redding in the Shasta Factory Outlets Mall.

RESORTS NEAR TRINITY ALPS

Open year-round, Lakeview Terrace Resort in Lewiston (9001 Trinity Dam Road; 530-778-3803, thelakeviewterraceresort.com) overlooks Lewiston Lake and offers cabin rentals for a night, a week, or longer. There is a small RV park at the resort as well. Boating and fishing are the main activities at this resort, but the 10-mile-per-hour speed limit on the lake makes kayaking or canoeing a viable option.

At a shady location along the Stuart Fork, a half mile up Trinity Alps Road from CA 3, Trinity Alps Resort (1750 Trinity Alps Road; 530-286-2205, trinityalpsresort.com) offers weeklong cabin rentals from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. The resort is also available for private groups during the shoulder seasons of May and September. Reservations for the 43 cabins and 3 lodge rooms are hard to come by and usually need to be made a year in advance. Amenities include a general store and Bear’s Breath Bar & Grill, which operates on limited days and hours.

Trinity Center, on the west shore of Trinity Lake, has a couple of boat-oriented resorts. Pinewood Cove Resort (45110 CA 3; 530-286-2201, pinewoodcove.com) offers cabins with full baths and kitchens for weeklong rentals between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend. Cabins can be rented for a two-night minimum during the off-season at reduced rates between mid-September and mid-May. Trinity Lake Resorts & Marina (45810 CA 3; 800-255-5561, trinitylakeresort.com) has housekeeping cabins with full kitchens and baths for nightly or weekly rental periods, plus houseboats for three- to seven-day rental periods.

Bonanza King Resort (475 Coffee Creek Road; 530-266-3305, bonanzakingresort.com) is a half mile west of CA 3. The resort has seven cabins, with kitchens and full baths, available for rent on a weekly basis during the summer season, which runs from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend. The cabins are available on a two-night minimum basis during the rest of the year.

A dude ranch about 5 miles from CA 3, Coffee Creek Ranch (4310 Coffee Creek Road; 800-624-4480, coffeecreekranch.com) has a history dating back to the late 1800s and is run by the Hartman Family. Daily trail rides are a staple of the ranch and overnight trips can be arranged. The ranch is open Easter–Thanksgiving.

Trinity Mountain Meadow Resort (530-462-4677, mountainmeadowresort.com) is on Coffee Creek Road, 18 miles from CA 3. Cabins can be rented for a week at a time during the months of July and August. All meals are provided.

North of Coffee Creek, Ripple Creek Cabins (1450 Eagle Creek Loop; 530-266-3505, ripplecreekcabins.com) is an all-year facility with seven housekeeping cabins, renting by the week during the summer and per night during the rest of the year.

Camp Unalayee (650-969-6313, unalayee-summer-camp.com) is a private kids’ summer camp on an inholding within the northeastern corner of the Trinity Alps Wilderness. Beginning operations on the present site in 1960, the camp was grandfathered in when the area became a federally designated wilderness in 1985.

Situated along the banks of the Klamath River about a mile from the town of Orleans, Sandy Bar Ranch (797 Ishi Pishi Road; 530-627-3379, sandybar.com) is a green-friendly resort offering four rustic redwood cabins for rent, each with a full bath and kitchen. Activities include rafting, fishing, and swimming in the Klamath River and hiking in the nearby western Alps.

RESORTS NEAR RUSSIAN WILDERNESS

More remote and much smaller than the Trinity Alps, the lands surrounding Russian Wilderness offer travelers little in the way of lodging options. JH Ranch (800-242-1224, jhranch.com) is a private Christian resort on the west side of the Russian Wilderness, geared primarily toward junior high and high school students.

RESORTS NEAR CASTLE CRAGS

Near the town of Castella along Clear Creek, Best in the West Resort (26987 Sims Road; 530-235-2603, eggerbestwest.com) is a small all-year facility with eight housekeeping cabins and an RV park.

Cave Springs Resort (4727 Dunsmuir Ave.; 888-235-2721, cavesprings.com), along the upper Sacramento River in Dunsmuir, rents cabins and motel rooms on a daily or weekly basis in a secluded setting.

Near the shore of Lake Siskiyou and southwest of the city of Mount Shasta, Mount Shasta Resort (1000 Siskiyou Lake Blvd.; 800-958-3363, mountshastaresort.com) offers fully equipped chalets for rent. The resort also has a golf course, day spa, restaurant (open Thursday–Sunday), and lounge.

Open April 1–November 1, Lake Siskiyou Camp Resort (4239 W. A. Barr Road; 888-926-2618, lakesiskiyouresort.com) has cabin rentals, campsites, a general store, a marina, and a swimming beach.

BED-AND-BREAKFASTS NEAR TRINITY ALPS

The Old Lewiston Inn (71 Deadwood Road; 530-778-3385, theoldlewistoninn.com), overlooking the Trinity River in the small community of Lewiston, offers seven guest rooms. The three-room Whitmore Inn (761 Main St.; 503-623-2509, weavervillewhitmoreinn.com) occupies a restored Victorian home in the historic district of downtown Weaverville. The historic and elegant Carrville Inn Resort (581 Carrville Loop Road; 530-266-3000, carrvilleinn.com), 6 miles north of Trinity Center immediately off CA 3, is a spacious three-story inn offering six guest rooms and a two-bedroom cottage nearby.

BED-AND-BREAKFASTS NEAR RUSSIAN WILDERNESS

Alderbrook Manor in Etna (836 Sawyers Bar Road; 530-467-3917, alderbrookmanor.com), occupying a fully restored Victorian home on well-manicured grounds, offers four guest rooms, two with private baths. Of great interest to hikers and backpackers is the Hikers Hut, a six-bed hostel-type cabin equipped with a bathroom, microwave, toaster, coffeemaker, outdoor grill, and computer with Wi-Fi. A washer and dryer are also available.

RESORTS AND BED-AND-BREAKFASTS NEAR CASTLE CRAGS

The Mount Shasta area has several establishments of note. Dream Inn (326 Chestnut St.; 877-375-4744, dreaminnmtshastacity.com) consists of two neighboring houses, one Victorian and the other Spanish-style. Shasta MountINN Retreat & Spa (203 Birch St.; 530-261-1926, shastamountinn.com) occupies an old Victorian farmhouse. Shasta Star Ranch Bed & Breakfast (1008 W. A. Barr Road; 530-926-3870, mountshastabedandbreakfast.com) is located outside of town. And near Lake Siskiyou, Mount Shasta Resort (1000 Siskiyou Lake Blvd.; 800-958-3363, mountshastaresort.com) is an upscale all-year resort offering a range of amenities.

PACKERS, OUTFITTERS, AND GUIDES

A number of outfitters hold permits to operate guided trips into the Trinity Alps and Russian Wilderness, using llamas, horses, or mules as the beasts of burden. For more information, contact the Shasta-Cascade Wonderland Association (see).

Fording the outlet of Upper Boulder Creek Lake (see Trip 39)