The North State is home to caves, concerts, California historic sites and other cool day trips.
With so much to do in the Redding area — Sacramento River Trail hikes, swimming and boating at Lake Shasta — you might have forgotten to add day trips to your 2025 summer bucket list. Whoops.
If so, there’s still a lot of summer left, and day tripping opportunities to make it memorable — or spread your adventures into autumn.
If you’ve not walked an underground lava river bed or toured a massive space alien-spotting array, these and three other excursions in Shasta and neighboring counties and in Southern Oregon are within half a day’s drive from Redding.
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Subway Cave Lava Tubes
Distance from Redding: 61 miles
Head out Highway 44 and drive past Old Station to Subway Lava Tubes in Lassen National Forest.
The lava-created cave usually opens from April to October, depending on when the snowfall and snow melt. But no matter the temperature above ground, the caverns stay close to 46 degrees, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
This self-guided trail through a cave made by lava flows winds 1/3 of a mile over uneven rocky terrain. No artificial or natural light reaches this “completely dark” cave, so bring a couple of strong flashlights, and wear sturdy shoes and warm clothes, the U.S. Forest Service advised.
People are able to stand and walk the whole trail; no crawling is required, according to the forest service.
Open hours are dawn until dusk.
Pets aren’t allowed in the lava tubes.
For more destinations and information about Hat Creek Valley’s volcanic past, go to the Old Station Visitor Information Center, Spatter Cones Trail and Hat Creek Rim Overlook.
Hat Creek Radio Observatory in Shasta County — Or, go space alien spotting on your own
Distance from Redding: 71.2 miles at 42231 Bidwell Road in Hat Creek
About a 25-minute drive from Burney, Shasta County’s internationally known Hat Creek Radio Observatory is home to SETI’s Allen Telescope Array.
An impressive sight in the middle of the forest, these 42 antennas, each with a diameter of 6 meters — almost 20 feet — search near and far for radio waves from various natural phenomena: Exploding stars, black holes, etc.
But what astronomers are really doing there is looking for life elsewhere in the universe. The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) uses the observatory, which also works on projects with NASA and other space agencies and research institutions around the world.
Public hours for the observatory are 8 to 3 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, during which people can take self-guided tours, said Astronomer Wael Farah. Call in advance to arrange staff-guided tours, when available: 530-335-2364.
Go on a UFO space alien search
Distance from Redding to Mount Shasta city: 62 miles
If you’d rather go on a solo UFO search instead of leaving the looking to SETI (above), head north on Interstate 5 to Mt. Shasta.
The mountain above the treeline is a hub of otherworldly activity, according to UFO rumors flying online and a season 17 episode of the History Channel series “Ancient Aliens.” In a 2023 Record Searchlight story, reporter David Benda explained some people believe the lost civilization of Lemuria is buried under Mt. Shasta’s glacier and snowy peak.
Roughly 38 in 10,000 people in Mount Shasta will see a UFO on average, according to casino and vacation site BonusFinder.com, and people claim they saw all kinds of differently shaped flying objects.
Visitors (human or otherwise) can relax, play golf, bike, shop and dine in the city of Mount Shasta while they wait for spacecraft. For more information go to visitmtshasta.com.
Weaverville’s Joss House State Historic Park
Distance from Redding: 43.3 miles
Take Highway 299 west to Weaverville to see California’s oldest continuously-used Chinese temple, the Joss House.
Built in 1874 to replace another temple that burned down, the Joss House is a Taoist temple that still attracts worshipers, as well as visitors who want to tour its exhibits and surrounding grounds.
And it’s a visual treat. The building houses Chinese and Californian art, historic photographs, mining tools from Weaverville’s Gold Rush days and weapons used in the 1854 Tong War, according to the park.
The Joss House and the surrounding park are usually open year-round, but best times to visit are in late spring and summer, when wildflowers are blooming in the Trinity Alps, park guide and spokesperson Jack Frost said.
Admission to the park’s visitor center is free. Admission to the temple is $4 for adults, $2 for children. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. Tour times are 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. For more information call 530-623-5284 or go to parks.ca.gov/.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland
Distance from Redding: 136 miles
OK, Ashland is a little more than a 2-hour drive from Redding, but it’s an annual ritual for Redding theater goers. And it has family-friendly programs.
Take Interstate 5 north to Ashland, Oregon — population 21,061 — for the internationally known Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The 8-month program of the Bard’s plays and productions also hosts free concerts, dance and theater performances some evenings in summer on it’s campus center stage, the Bricks.
Every season (March to October) the theater company hosts nine to 11 productions. These include musicals, comedies, dramas, original plays and at least one production that’s family friendly.
This year’s lineup includes these productions with performances from August into September or October:
Tickets usually start at around $46 for adults, $37 for youth. Check the festival’s website for showtimes and the occasional sale at osfashland.org.
Ashland also has great hiking, cycling, boutique and art shopping, dining, spa and other recreational opportunities. Go to ashlandoregon.gov.
David Benda contributed to this story.
Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica on Record Searchlight Facebook groups Get Out! Nor Cal , Today in Shasta County and Shaping Redding’s Future. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: 5 day trips from Redding you can still take in summer, fall 2025
Reporting by Jessica Skropanic, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
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