Mount Shasta

Mount Shasta is one of the most visually commanding mountains in North America a nearly symmetrical volcanic cone rising 9,000 feet above the surrounding plateau with no foothill transition, making it appear even larger than its 14,179-foot elevation suggests. The mountain last erupted in 1786 and remains active, with five named glaciers on its slopes that are slowly retreating due to warming temperatures. The town of Mount Shasta at the mountain's western base (elevation 3,600 feet) has become something of a spiritual destination the mountain features prominently in Lemurian mythology and New Age traditions, attracting a counter-cultural community alongside the mountaineers, skiers, and wilderness hikers. Black Bear Diner, headquartered here, originated in Mount Shasta. Mount Shasta Ski Park on the mountain's southern flank is a small but reliably snowy resort. McCloud, an old mill town 10 miles east, preserves its company-town architecture and has the McCloud Falls, three separate waterfalls on the McCloud River accessible by a 1.7-mile trail. Dunsmuir to the south has exceptional fly-fishing on the Sacramento River's headwater stretch, which begins at the spring-fed Big Spring below the mountain. Castle Crags State Park, with 6,500-foot granite spires above the Sacramento River canyon, is one of California's most dramatic geological formations.