Lake Shasta/Caverns

This is the first of a series of posts detailing hikes and walks I undertook in the course of a road trip in July 2016 that spanned 9 days and 3 states: CA, OR and NV (the last very transiently).

Date: July 2, 2016

Location: Shasta County, CA

Day 1 of my first road trip. The previous day I had driven to Red Bluff, CA from the Bay Area with a view to saving some driving time. At 8:00 a.m.  I checked out, and was ready to start the eventful phase of the trip. I planned to stop for a while at Shasta Dam and visiting the Lake Shasta Caverns before driving up to Crater Lake National Park.

A short distance north on the I-5, and then down some rustic roads was my first stop - Shasta Dam - where I arrived before the weekend crowds, and walked across the dam and back, with only a few other morning joggers around. The reservoir presents a pretty picture, with Mt. Shasta visible in the distance. It was a rather warm morning through, and I was glad to have made an early start, thereby avoiding the worst of the heat and the crowds. Both had started growing by the time I left.

Lake Shasta

From the dam

View from a roadside vista point as I was driving back toward I-5

Continuing north on I-5, my next stop was Lake Shasta Caverns, with a short but annoyingly narrow and windy approach road.


To get to the Caverns, one takes a short boat-ride and an approx. 10-min bus-ride up a hill on a narrow road that can only accommodate 1-way traffic.

From the boat

The caverns themselves are quite fascinating with intricate stalactites, stalagmites, and other structures. Many give the appearance of fanciful shapes ranging from dragons to broccoli!

Stalactites and Stalagmites

Doesn't this look like a giant tooth?

Broccoli-like structures

In the "Cathedral"

View on exiting the Caverns

And then it was time to drive up the I-5 (this section is also known as the "Cascade Wonderland Highway" - a fun name), where I was stuck in a not-so-fun traffic jam for an hour due to construction work, before switching over to U.S. 97E, a part of the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway, a National Scenic Byway that I ended up traversing in entirety later in this trip. I followed this to Klamath Falls and beyond, switching to Oregon 62W near Fort Klamath and then all the way up to Crater Lake Lodge. I got there around 5:45 p.m. or so, quite exhausted from a long day of driving and sightseeing.