Redding Area

Nestled at the base of incredible mountain ranges that flank its western, northern and eastern borders, the city of Redding is home to over 93,000 people and is the largest population center in far Northern California. Mercy Medical Center, overlooking the Sacramento River Valley, serves as a local community hospital as well as a referral center for a vast region from the Oregon border two hours north, half way to Sacramento (two hours to the south), east to Nevada and west to the Pacific Ocean. Shasta County is predominantly rural with a population over 179,000. Our climate has warm summers, mild winters, seasonal rain, and occasional snow in the valley (and over 40’ at Lassen Peak and Mt. Shasta each located just an hour away).

^{[Photos: Mount Shasta Winter Sports | Area Summer Sport]}

Culturally, the community regularly enjoys performances by local theater groups, the North State Symphony, the Shasta Symphony and Shasta Chorale. In addition to museums, art galleries, the Sundial Bridge and a planetarium, we also enjoy an annual Jazz Festival and the Redding Rodeo. Popular music and theater performances occur regularly at the Redding Convention Center and at the Cascade Theater. Ashland, Oregon, hosts the Oregon Shakespeare Festival from February through October, and is only two hours away. There are two colleges in the area: Shasta College is a two-year community college offering a wide variety of day and night classes, and Simpson University is a four-year private school. California State University, Chico, is 70 miles southeast of Redding.

Opportunities for outdoor sports abound in Shasta County with a national forest surrounding the city. Shasta and Whiskeytown Lakes are both within 20 minutes of town and offer the entire spectrum of water sports year round. Stream and river sports, hiking, biking, and backpacking opportunities close by. Mt. Shasta and Lassen National Park are especially attractive in this regard. Downhill and cross country skiing is popular at Shasta, Lassen and north into Oregon.

On a more suburban note, there are the usual tennis courts, golf courses, fitness clubs, and well-organized city leagues for team sports. With its Sacramento River Trail System, Redding has been written up in the San Francisco Chronicle as “becoming a trail capital for California and possibly the United States.”

Shopping opportunities include the Mt Shasta Mall (Macys, Home Goods, Old Navy, etc.), Costco, Walmart, Target, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Sprouts and Trader Joe’s. A factory outlet center lies within a 20-minute drive of downtown Redding. Dining opportunities include main chain restaurants, local cuisines, ethnic restaurants (Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Thai, Mexican, Italian) and local breweries.

^{[Photos: Mount Lassen Volcanic Park Recreational Activities | Sacramento River Sports Fishing]}