Redding Attractions

Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay
The Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay is a beautiful, unique pedestrian bridge that crosses the Sacramento River and connects the Nationally-designated trail system in Redding, California, with the Turtle Bay Exploration Park and McConnell Arboretum.
The bridge is beautiful because of its aqua green, opaque glass deck; strips of granite; and smooth, white imported Spanish tile. The bridge is unique because of its design. The 217-foot pylon acts as a sundial, telling time on a tile covered garden border on the north side of the bridge. The designer of the bridge, world-renowned architect Santiago Calatrava, has said that, to him, the bridge resembles a bird in flight, and symbolizes the overcoming of adversity. The bridge is also environmentally sensitive to its river setting. The tall pylon and cable stays allow this unique suspension bridge to avoid the nearby salmon-spawning habitat. Several fly fishing publications and professional guides have rated this area of the Sacramento River as being in the top 10 tail water fisheries in the world!

Turtle Bay Exploration Park 530-243-8850, 800-TURTLEBAY
Location:
One mile west of Interstate 5 on Hwy 299W. Take the Park Marina Drive exit.
Spanning the Sacramento River in Redding, California and connected by the Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay designed by Santiago Calatrava, Turtle Bay Exploration Park is a 300-acre campus containing educational and entertaining activities that interpret the relationship between humans and nature. The Park tells the stories of the region and its people through a museum, art gallery, wildlife exhibits, forest camp, a summer butterfly house, amphitheater, and the new McConnell Arboretum & Gardens. Turtle Bay Museum is the cornerstone of the Park. Within its 34,000 square feet, five permanent and two changing exhibitions capture the art, history, science, and culture of the region. The new Gardens comprise 20 acres of mediterranean-climate display gardens, a children's garden, a medicinal garden, and two beautiful and unique water features. The Arboretum extends over 200 acres with direct links to the award-winning Sacramento River Trail.

Big League Dreams
Redding Sports Complex
530-223-1177
The Redding Big League Dreams Sports Complex, opening July 31, 2004, is envisioned as a family friendly facility offering a wide-range of athletic pursuits.

Redding Aquatic Center
Caldwell Park
530-245-7247
The City's community pool was recently transformed from an aging 50-meter pool to a state of the art aquatic center featuring a new Olympic-sized 50-meter by 25-yard, competition class swimming pool. Other features include a 76- x 136-foot recreation pool featuring zero-depth "walk-in" entry, a large water-play feature and a 160-foot water slide. Other new additions to the facility include a modernized change house, additional restrooms and showers, a sand volleyball court, a full-service concession stand, a party-patio for groups of 40 or less, festive shade structures, and numerous family picnic areas, all within walking distance of the beautiful Sacramento River.

Sacramento River Trail
An 8 foot wide trail designed for pedestrian and bicycling traffic, attracting people of all ages--from the dedicated jogger to the elderly couple out for an evening stroll, from the weekend bicyclist and family outings to the fisherman look for that ideal angling spot.
Besides being a pleasant outing, the Sacramento River Trail is also an educational experience, offering insights into Redding's early history and natural surroundings. Along the trail, point-of-interest markers explain that the present trail crosses the road travelled by pioneers, mountain men and gold miners. Certain hints of the past--such as the site of a ferry crossing and the remains of hydraulic mining operations can be readily seen from the trail.
The southern portion covers 2.5 miles of fairly flat spaces and rolling hills to the pedestrian foot bridge below Keswick Dam. This bridge, the first of its kind in North America, is a 13-foot-wide, 420-foot-long concrete stress-ribbon structure, and is promoted by the State Department of Parks and Recreation as an "environmentally safe bridge."
Crossing over to the north side, the trail continues for another 1.4 miles over steeper, more rugged terrain that contours with the river. There is a slight break through a comfortable residential area, and then the trail picks up again for .8 of a mile and exits on Lake Redding Drive, near Caldwell Park and the original entrance. From start to finish, the complete loop is approximately 6 miles and can easily be walked in a couple of hours.
To complement the original 6 mil loop, a 1.7 mile extension of the Sacramento River Trial has been added on the river's north bank from the Diestlehorst Bridge to Benton Ranch. The new section of trail is 12 feet across and runs downriver through Lake Redding and Caldwell Parks under the Market Street vehicle bridge, through the McConnell Arboretum and up the hill to Hilltop Drive.

Shasta Dam
275-4463, or, 275-1554
The second largest and highest concrete structure in the United States, 602 feet high, and 3,460 feet long. A spectacular view of "The Three Shastas" (Shasta Dam, Shasta Lake and Mt. Shasta) is an added enticement for a visit.
Shasta Lake
Phone: 800-280-CAMP (Forest Service Concessionaire)
Location:
12 miles north of Redding on I-5
Maximum depth: 517 feet

Lake Shasta Caverns
800/795-CAVE, 530-238-2341
Explore nature's underground magic, thousands of years in the making. Guided tour includes a catamaran cruise across Shasta Lake, and a short bus ride to the Caverns entrance. Temperature is a constant 58 year-round. Open all year.

Whiskeytown National Recreation Area
(530) 246-1225 Visitor Center
Camping reservations (800) 365-2267 National Park Reservation Service
Oak Bottom Marina (530) 359-2027 Boat rentals, boat slips, fuel, groceries
Located approximately 20 minutes west of Redding on Highway 299 West, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area offers a lake with 36 miles of shoreline, sandy beaches, swimming, boating, and marinas. Numerous marked trails attract hikers, mountain bikers, and horseback riders. A memorial to President John F. Kennedy, commemorating his dedication of the dam in 1963, is located on the south shore.