Future Field Trips:
Dec. 2023 & Jan. 2024

Top of the World. D. Mandel.
The crew that hiked to the Top of the World on New Year's Day 2023. Snow-capped Mt. Shasta in the background.
Photo © Doug Mandel.

Important Notice: California Native Plant Society now requires all field trip participants to sign an annual waiver of liability. This can be done online at WaiverSign. Once signed, you will be covered for all Shasta Chapter CNPS events in 2023. Thank you!

Please join us for the following field trips, co-hosted by Shasta Chapter CNPS and Shasta Environmental Alliance (SEA).

Sacramento River Bend Field Trip
Saturday, December 9, 9:30 AM

  • This field trip will be to BLM’s Sacramento River Bend Recreation Area in Tehama County. We will take two short, easy walks totaling about 4 miles. One will be on a generally flat trail along Paynes Creek, where we will see California sycamores (Platanus racemosa) with an understory of many California buckeye (Aesculus californica). This trail is a good place to learn to identify shrubs and trees in the fall, most without their leaves; walk leader David Ledger will identify them. The second short walk will be in the riparian forest next to the Sacramento River, but if it is excessively muddy, we will walk a different trail. Bring water, lunch, boots, and layered clothes. For drizzle or light rain, bring an umbrella; heavy rain cancels. (It rains way less in Tehama County!) Dogs OK on leash if you pick up after them. Meet at the CVS parking lot in the Holiday Market shopping center on Placer Street, Redding, at 9:30 AM to carpool.
Rough track. D. Burk.
Rough track running along Paynes Creek, Sacramento River Bend Recreation Area. November 14, 2021. Photo by Don Burk.

New Year’s Day Hike: Westside Trail
Monday, January 1, 9:30 AM

  • Start the New Year off right by joining us on our traditional hike up Redding’s Westside Trail, a 4-mile round trip, of easy to moderate difficulty, to the “Top of the World,” sporting views of Mt. Shasta, Trinity Alps, Mt. Lassen, and the northern Sierras. We will identify some of the native plants as we hike up the hill, observe vegetation regrowth following the Carr Fire, and take note of BLM’s recent brush removal for fire safety. We will also identify the invasive stinkwort, which is now infesting wildlands of California. Field trip leader David Ledger has led this fun hike for the Shasta Chapter of the California Native Plant Society for 12 years, and is continuing to lead it as a joint Shasta Chapter CNPS/SEA field trip. We usually have 15 to 20 friendly people on this fun field trip, and a toast of wine to the New Year at the top. For drizzle or light rain, bring an umbrella; heavy rain cancels. Dogs OK on leash if you pick up after them. Meet at the west end of Kilkee Drive near Mary Lake, Redding, at 9:30 AM. Limit 20 people.

For more information about either hike, please contact walk leader David Ledger at david@ecoshasta.org. Please sign in on our Meetup page to sign a waiver, which is good for all field trips through 2024. ~David Ledger