Redding, Set, Go: Rolling on a Nor-Cal River
Story by Janet Fullwood
Been to Redding lately? This Northern California (Shasta County) city is more than just a drive-by. And while it’s not all about the Sundial Bridge, that’s the icon that pulls travelers off Interstate 5.
The stunning pedestrian span turns 20 this year, with all manner of celebratory events planned from June 28 through 4th of July weekend. There will be lots of live music and a beer festival, well as a troupe of acrobats swinging from the bridge’s 217-foot angled steel pylon.
If you have never seen this architectural marvel spanning the Sacramento River, put it on your bucket list. It’s a thing of beauty and grace, a 700-foot-long glass and steel structure that also functions as the world’s largest working sundial. The translucent glass deck casts mesmerizing dapples on the river below and connects two parts of Turtle Bay Exploration Park, encompassing a museum/interpretive center, arboretum and botanical gardens, and hike-and-bike trails on both sides of the river.
Santiago Calatrava, a Spanish architect known for his sculptural bridge creations in Venice, Dallas, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, and other cities, had never heard of Redding, California when the phone rang in his Switzerland office more than 20 years ago. It was a call from the McConnell Foundation, the philanthropic organization behind the Turtle Bay facilities, casting about for an architect with a creative vision. They wanted a bridge, but not just some faceless concrete span from the highway department.
Calatrava was intrigued; the foundation was willing to foot the eventual $23.5 million cost, and gradually, the aesthetic vision emerged.
“The design,” he said at the time, “is an interplay if two factors; first, its orientation North/South makes the inclined pylon generate shadows. It works as a sundial, exploring connections with the cosmos, further reflected in the landscaping of the base.”
Controversial? You bet. What was a Spanish architect doing in a small California city known for its history in the lumber industry? But when the bridge was completed, even the naysayers were star-struck. The tourists started coming, and two decades later, they haven’t stopped, and neither have the locals.
More To See And Do In Redding
Don’t let the bridge be your only reason for coming to Redding. Besides an intriguing and walkable downtown with murals splashed with many murals, the city, which bills itself as the “Trail Capital of California,” has put in miles of new bike lanes. Pedal-assisted bike rentals are everywhere, and the Shasta Bike Depot, a full-service nonprofit, offers guided tours on a network of trails hugging the river and beyond.
Much is also new on the culinary front, including an interesting downtown eatery called The Lost Era that shares space with an antiques shop and prepares just one meal a day, take it or leave it. Across the street is a tasting room for the Vineyard of Our Lady of New Clarivaux, a historic property in nearby Vina centered around a rebuilt 500-year-old Spanish abbey, now home to a Trappist monastery.
Don’t miss the “Three Shastas:” Shasta Dam, Shasta Lake and Mount Shasta. The former is the second-largest concrete dam in the country. Walk across it, bike across it, take a tour. The dam holds back Shasta Lake, largest reservoir in California and the biggest houseboating destination in the state. A looming backdrop to both is 14,180-foot Mount Shasta, snow-capped most of the year. It’s about a half-hour away from Redding but with the trip. Start in Shasta City, a center for climbing outfitters but also New-Age purveyors of crystals and such.
Another attraction is Lake Shasta Caverns, a place of underground magic. Tours start with a catamaran cruise across the lake before going underground.
If you’re into fishing, check out Whiskeytown Lake, considered one of the best trout fisheries in the country. If you don’t have a boat, sign on for a guided trip and/or lessons on the lake, on the river or destinations more-flung. Your source is The Fly Shop, a renowned magnet for anglers and an amazing place to browse even if you’ve never cast a line.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, start with visitredding.com
Janet Fullwood has had a 35-year career writing about travel and tourism. Contact her at traveltopix@gmail.com
