Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, nearby the city of Redding, is an all season park covering 39,000 acres. Here in northern California where the Klamath Mountain Range meets the Sacramento Valley, the area offers an excellent terrain for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding and camping. Best known for lakeside activities, Whiskeytown Lake, with its sapphire-blues waters and warm California sun, has no trouble enticing swimmers and boaters to the area. The lake’s amazing clarity is also recognized by SCUBA divers, who enjoy this immense lake with canoeists and kayakers.
   History Buffs will also appreciate ranger led mine tours recalling the Gold Rush Era. In fact the unusual Whiskeytown name may have been created by an area prospector, Billie Peterson. Working the area mines, it seems Billie’s pack, carried his mule, came loose and sent his supplies tumbling down into a creek. Among his stash was a barrel of whiskey, breaking on the rocks and spilling its contents into the creek. Billie may not have represented all the miners in the area, but afterward the stream became known as Whiskey Creek and the Whiskeytown name followed.
   For hikers and waterfall fans, four major waterfalls provide an extra special treat when springtime snowmelt rushes down the mountainsides. Here, Boulder Creek Falls was thought to be the tallest falls in the park until Whiskeytown Falls was rediscovered in 2004. Named for Redding native son, the James K. Carr Trail leads up to this spectacular 220 foot waterfall. A 3.5 mile roundtrip hike, the trail to Whiskeytown Falls is a moderate climb that leads passed Cougar Rock, and through a forest of Douglas fir, ponderosa pine, sugar pine and incense cedar. Tucked into a box canyon, the beautiful waterfall is no longer a well kept secret.

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