As of May 1, 2021:
The visitor center offers limited services on the front porch. Rangers will be available Thursday-Monday from 9:00-12:00 and 1:30-5:00.
Services offered by Park Rangers include general information and brochures.
On days that the ranger is not availabe, brochures will be available on the front porch.
The WNPA Store is open Thursday-Monday from 9:00am-12:00pm and 1:30pm-5:00pm.
A maximum of 4 people are allowed in the store at a time. Facial coverings must be worn in order to enter the store.
The Good...
Mount Shasta is the local ski slope for Northern California from Chico to Klamath Falls. Every winter locals flock to the mountain along with a whole lot of travelers. Hearing multiple languages is common.
They offer half day and full day ski lessons for the kids. You need to reserve lessons online early for weekend lessons. The online reservations turn off 48hours before Saturday and Sunday lessons and lessons sell out. So reserve early!
If the kidos are not down with skiing for 15 bucks they can tube. When my youngest didn’t want to carry in with her ski lessons we spent the afternoon tubing. The tube slide is fast!!
The high alpine terrain is breath takingly beautiful. The smaller resort mean less crowds and shorter lines.
The bad...
Face it skiing is expensive. The rentals and the full day lessons for two kids will set you back roughly 350.00. For me totally worth not having to listen to my kids complain while learning the ins and outs of skiing.
Accommodation close to the slopes are rustic/rural, expensive and sell out so plan ahead!
The parking lot at Mont Shasta is limited. If you arrive late and there is no parking you will be turned away, so show up early!
If renting equipment expect long lines. The employees hustle to get thing quickly and try to keep the lines moving but there is a limited employee pool for the area. Expect long lines.
The good...
The caves are fascinating and beautiful.
There are fifty bald Eagles nesting on lake Shasta and on the short boat ride we got to observe one take flight. Only the second time in I saw a bald eagle in the wild.
There is a pan mining set up by the visitor store and for ten bucks each the kids got to mine using pans. They are super interested in geology so this was great.
The bad...
After taking a short boat ride you ascend a slope and get on a bus that will take you to the cave entrance. The brochure leaves out how many switch backs and slopes you have to climb, not including the stairs within the cave. There are a lot of slopes and steps.
The Ugly,
Our tour guide was not masked! Although the guest were masked the tour guide was not, not on the boat, not in the bus, not in the cave. Covid has killed a lot of people and the lack of reverence was appalling.
Right off the freeway hwy 5. Free parking and less than 10 minutes to the falls. Beautiful and a great way to stretch your legs.
We RV camped here in 2017 and are returning for 2021.
With the campfire next to the McKenzie River where we could see the glow from the campfire across the river and listen to the water flowing past. Our campsite neighbor played the flute, my six-year-old proclaimed "it's like magic". Bring sailboats with pull strings to the secret garden and butterfly nets for the lawn natural vacation utopia is complete.