Dunsmuir

Visitors who wander the historic streets of Dunsmuir step visually into the year 1927. The town was named after the family who donated the giant fountain by the train station, and these winding roads were once trails for Native Americans, gold prospectors and trappers. Located in a verdant canyon in the shadow of Mt. Shasta and her Cascades sisters with the Sacramento River running through it, Dunsmuir was once a hopping railroad stop. Train lovers still gather to pay homage to the locomotive history of this village. However, local flavor today is Paul Bunyan meets your dreamy high school art teacher. Haute cuisine and art from recycled ...

Visitors who wander the historic streets of Dunsmuir step visually into the year 1927. The town was named after the family who donated the giant fountain by the train station, and these winding roads were once trails for Native Americans, gold prospectors and trappers. Located in a verdant canyon in the shadow of Mt. Shasta and her Cascades sisters with the Sacramento River running through it, Dunsmuir was once a hopping railroad stop. Train lovers still gather to pay homage to the locomotive history of this village. However, local flavor today is Paul Bunyan meets your dreamy high school art teacher. Haute cuisine and art from recycled materials inhabit the turn of the century buildings in the Historic Railroad district. There's not a traffic light in town, but you can score organic milk in the bakery. Blue ribbon trout seem to jump onto your line. Swimming holes are more populous than restaurants. Waterfalls and bird calls are the loudest sounds you'll hear. And rather than street lights, the stars light up the evening sky. Dunsmuir's proximity to hiking trails, national parks, boating lakes, the Redding Airport and scenic drives makes her an under the radar destination for sporty types.

About the Expert

Michele Bigley is the author of Northern California: An Explorer's Guide and Great Destinations Kauai from Countryman Press.