Nestled on the southern slopes of beautiful Mt. Shasta, McCloud and the surrounding area provides a myriad of year-round outdoor recreation opportunities ideally suited for a family fun adventure. It can also be an ideal spot for a romantic getaway or relaxing weekend with its quaint collection of lodging opportunities such as the McCloud Hotel or the McCloud River Inn. McCloud, originally a lumber company owned town has a rich past and is one of the few places in America where the community still lives its railroad and timber related history. A visit to the Heritage Junction Museum on Main Street, which houses over 100 years of historical artifacts, photographs and exhibits is a must for a great introduction to the town's history. You will then understand why the downtown area of McCloud is a Nationally Registered Historic District! Fishing abounds along the McCloud River and McCloud Lake for German, Rainbow, Brown or Brook trout. Great scenery is guaranteed on a hike along the McCloud River in the area of Fowlers Campground, where the outstanding picnic locations and spectacular views of the three waterfalls of the McCloud are waiting just for you! For a fun-filled evening hop on board the Shasta Sunset Dinner Train for a three-hour journey aboard vintage cars and enjoy a delicious four course gourmet meal. The dinner train is one of only two in California and is considered the best!

Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges provide visitors with some area history combined with activities, as well as opportunities to get out your binoculars and view an abundance of wildlife. Start by visiting the Tule Lake refuge in the heart of the Pacific Flyway, and one of America's richest havens for wildlife. Six national wildlife refuges, three state wildlife areas, and thousands of acres of private farmlands provide habitat for a wide variety of waterfowl, shorebirds, songbirds, raptors, big game, small mammals and aquatic life. Millions of birds stop there throughout the year to feed, rest and raise their young. In the winter time, from December through February, the largest concentration of bald eagles in the continental U.S. make this refuge their home, and in spring, waterfowl numbers peak in March with more than 1 million birds present in some years. In the fall, waterfowl migration begins in early September with the arrival of northern pintails and greater white-fronted geese, and over 1 million ducks, geese, and swans are usually present by early November, and in summer you'll find North America's largest concentration of snow geese.

Backpack or ride horseback into the remote beauty of the Marble Mountain Wilderness. You can be completely alone in rarely visited Tichner Hole, or join the "crowds", perhaps a dozen or so on a busy weekend, camping at popular Sky High Valley in the geologically diverse Scott River District of the wilderness area. Visit the Ukonom District, location of Sugar-loaf Mountain, "Katamin" in the Karuk language, which is considered to be the center of the earth by the Native American Karuk Tribe. Hike or horseback ride through thick forests to sub-alpine glacier basin lakes in the Happy Camp District at the northwest corner of the wilderness area. Remember your fishing pole; 89 lakes are stocked with trout!

"River rafting is fun for everyone!" according to one of the Northstate's experienced river guide. Family float trips can provide an opportunity for parents, grandparents and children to reconnect while enjoying the natural beauty along one of Siskiyou County's wild and scenic rivers. Children as young as three will delight in the excitement of "running" playful class II rapids. Older children can learn to kayak, or enjoy tubing along side the raft. Booking a rafting trip with one of the companies doing business in Siskiyou County allows everyone in the family to have a vacation! Boating equipment, state of the art life jackets, meals and beverages are included in the cost. "It was as much fun as Disneyland, even my Mom said so!" chortled young satisfied rafter, Cory Peterson.

Everett Memorial Highway is a year-round gateway to recreation and sightseeing on the slopes of Mount Shasta. As you travel up the highway, which begins in Mt. Shasta City, you will pass through conifer forests, and see the site of a huge mudslide which ripped out ancient trees and sent boulders tumbling down the slopes. At the Everett Vista Point enjoy panoramic views of the Eddys, Marble Mountains, and even Mount Lassen. At Sand Flat, walk through a climax Red Fir Forest, and feed blue birds so tame they will eat from your outstretched hand. In the winter, park and play in the snow at Bunny Flat, the trailhead for the most popular route to the summit. During the exceedingly short high altitude summer season, walk with care through the delicate beauty of alpine vegetation in Panther Meadow. Drive to the 8000ft. level, and experience the stark and barren beauty above tree line.

The Living Memorial Sculpture Garden, created by Vietnam veteran and sculpture artist, Dennis Smith, was dedicated as a war memorial, but the metal sculptures evoke a powerful sense of striving for peace. Groupings with names such as, The Refugees, The Why Group, Those Left Behind, and Coming Home, are arranged within walking distance of each other with the stark landscape and lovely distant view of Mount Shasta as a backdrop. Sitting areas are provided for quiet meditation and contemplation.

Golfing in Siskiyou County offers a variety of challenges, with stunning views of the four sides of Mt. Shasta, and the beautiful Klamath River. Lake Shastina Golf Resort, near Weed, is an 18-hole championship course known as the Magnificent Monster. This 6950 yd course on the gently rolling hills north of Mt. Shasta was designed by Robert Trent Jr. The newest 18-hole course is at the Mount Shasta Resort on Lake Siskiyou. This course created by well-known designers, Sandy Tatum and Jim Summers is an exceptional challenge with scenic views of Mt. Shasta, the Eddys, Black Butte and Lake Siskiyou. Three 9-hole courses are special favorites for local golfers. The McCloud Golf Course offers many wide fairways, with some tee areas changing for the second time around. The Weed Golf Course has some great putting challenges. The Eagle's Nest Golf Course located along the scenic Klamath River, claims to have the best greens in Northern California.

Fish for the famous Shasta rainbow trout in the waters of the McCloud or Upper Sacramento Rivers. This tenacious fighter, native to southern Siskiyou County, has been planted all over the world including the rivers of Argentina and Chile. Fly fishing from an inflatable raft in the Upper Sac gives you an advantage you'll never have from the shore. You'll drift naturally with the hungry trout, catching and releasing as you float down the river. Fish along the banks of the McCloud River from one of numerous access points. Fishing limits vary from two to five depending upon where you go. Walk into the McCloud River Preserve early enough to be one of only ten people a day allowed to fish this protected area.

The Lower Klamath River flows undammed for 184 miles from Irongate Reservoir near Interstate 5 all the way to the Pacific Ocean, making it one of the longest and largest free flowing rivers in the West. It carries water that drains from five mountain ranges: the Cascades, Siskiyous, Marble, Trinity Alps, and Klamath. The Lower Klamath is a federally designated Wild & Scenic River. This river has it all! Long lazy floats on sun-drenched days, seemingly endless stretches of heart-pounding Class III whitewater, remote tranquil campsites, secret waterfalls, eagles, herons, otters, osprey, salmon, deer, beaver, trout, wildflowers, butterflies, the occasional bear, towering mountain views, echoing canyon walls, silent arboreal shade, quaint homestead farms, historic gold-mining towns, and Native American ceremonial grounds.

Mount Shasta is the most magnificent volcano in the Cascades, with two peaks rising 10,000 feet above valley floor. It presents a thousand different faces, and beckons the traveler to view it from every possible perspective. Two round-the-Mountain car trips are possible during the summer and fall, before snowstorms close off both eastern routes. The view from Mt. Shasta City is of two distinct peaks, with the slightest hint of an ancient third cone off to the south. As the traveler continues to Weed, Shastina, the lower peak, becomes more prominent, with heart-shaped, Diller Canyon forming a huge gash that cuts down the side of the mountain into the foothills. To complete the journey around the Mountain, travelers turn off at Hwy 97. High clearance 2-wheel, or 4-wheel vehicles can take Military Pass Road around the northeast side to McCloud, where glaciers and lava flows can be seen close up. Drive through pine, fir and hemlock on the descent into the McCloud Flats and Hwy 89. From the City of McCloud, the hot springs in the Mud Creek Canyon area become visible as a dark stain on the snowy slope. Another Round the Mountain route continues down Hwy 97 past Military Pass Rd. and into the Butte Valley, through the Lava Beds National Monument, and the Medicine Lake Highlands before reaching Hwy 89.

Hot air ballooning may be as close as any of us ever get to space travel, says Jane English, one of a group of commercial pilots in Siskiyou County. "When I float high above the ground, I feel suspended, with the earth gently rotating below me." Ballooning in Siskiyou County is especially spectacular, with magnificent Mt. Shasta as a constant backdrop as the balloon gently sails high above the meadows and fields of the Shasta Valley, and slowly settles closer to the ground, flushing wildlife from the marshes and shallows of the Shasta River. The Shasta Valley of Siskiyou County has all the elements necessary to become a destination ballooning area on a par with the Napa Valley in California, and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The Upper Sacramento River Exchange is an award-winning watershed museum, and public information, education and interpretive center which grew out of the devastating 1991 railroad tanker chemical spill into the Sacramento River near the city of Dunsmuir. The River Center located in Dunsmuir, has served thousands of visitors, students, scientists and residents. A database of information about the chemical spill and recovery of the river is available for study and investigation. An extensive watershed education program is carried out in partnership with area schools. Popular interpretive Saturday night natural history shows are presented regularly, covering topics such as mountain lions, eagles, Native American customs relating to the watershed, and river restoration. Visitors to the River Center are delighted with historical maps, hands-on natural history exhibits, rare watershed animal displays, and a 16'long map of the Sacramento River watershed. The River Center is an area meeting place for fishermen, vacationers, schoolchildren, and watershed researchers.