According to Wikipedia, "McCloud is a small town and census-designated place (CDP) in Siskiyou County, California, United States. The population was 1,101 at the 2010 census, down from 1,343 at the 2000 census. Visitors use McCloud as a base to engage in nationally-recognized trout fishing in the nearby McCloud, Sacramento and Klamath Rivers, or come to see and climb Mount Shasta, Castle Crags or the Trinity Alps."
We drove towards McCloud, guided by the landmark of Mt. Shasta.
On our way out of McCloud towards Ashland, we also saw a companion peak to Mt. Shasta:
McCloud was a quaint little town, with some Victorian houses, serve as Hotels and Bed and Breakfasts. Mt. Shasta was always present.
It had some charmingly rustic shops like these:
Our hotel, McCloud River Inn was a beautiful country Victorian. It has lovely lawns and woodlands and is a Nationally Registered Historic Inn. As the former headquarters for the McCloud River Lumber Company and the home of McCloud's first bank, we saw some interesting artifacts and in case we missed the connection to lumber, many decorations and utensils made of saws constantly made references to the past. Apparently, McCloud has large amount of snow in winter, demonstrated by the warning sign about the snow on the roof.
There was a long train track near our hotel and several rather well-kept cars sat there discretely:
During the breakfast, we learned from the hostess that there used to be a three-hour dining train ride, starting from McCloud and had attracted many tourists all year long.
According to the official website of Shasta Sunset Dinner Train, "the Dinner Train cars, with their deep "Pullman Green" and gold exterior finish, were originally built for the Illinois Central Railroad in 1916. Acquired in 1995, these "heavyweight" cars have been carefully rebuilt in the McCloud Railway's shops where meticulous attention to detail is evident in their rich mahogany and brass interiors. Our dining cars are named for north state counties Shasta, Siskiyou, and Lassen. Our Trinity car can be set up as a theater car for up to 70 people and can also be used for music and dancing."
The website also features the route and interiors of these glorious cars. It is such a shame that they are no longer in operation and it is doubtful that they would come back, since I heard from locals that even the tracks had been ripped apart and sold years ago. So sad.
Dance Car
The website also mentioned an hour-long Excursion Train, which is open air and starting from McCloud and it seemed to me that it was not in operation either.
Below is a compilation of videos of the Mt. Shasta and other peaks, shot on our way in and out of McCloud:
Related articles:
--> Coastal Northern California and Wine Country - Oregon Trip, Part 11 (The End)
--> Arcata, California - Oregon Trip, Part 10
--> Idyllic Parks and Cute Animals in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 9
--> Art in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 8
--> Natural Bridge and Crater Lake, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part7
--> It Got Better - Three Plays at Oregon Shakespeare Festival - Oregon Trip, Part 6
--> Ashland Springs Hotel - Oregon Trip, Part 5
--> Ashland, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part 4
--> A Night at McCloud, California - Oregon Trip, Part 3
--> Burney Falls in McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, Shasta County, California - Oregan Trip, Part 2
--> Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay, Redding, California - Oregon Trip, Part 1
Posts
