Shasta-Cascade lodging comes with lore
The bad news about road-tripping through these northern counties is that the distances are vast, the towns few and far between.
With its tall rooftop neon sign, colonnaded front and imposing corner location, the Niles Hotel has been the cornerstone of downtown Alturas since cattlemen and railroad workers frequented its saloon in the early 20th century.
Once the absolute definition of a “company town,” where purchases at McCloud River Mercantile were docked from mill workers’ paychecks, this former logging camp has evolved into a wilderness gateway with the waterfall pools of the McCloud River and the shores of Lake Siskiyou just 15 minutes away.
[...] from feather beds to full country breakfasts, the rooms above are long on creature comforts as well as history.
Package experiences include everything from couples’ massage to ski lift tickets to Christmas tree cutting permits.
Claw-foot tubs, a library stocked with books and games, homemade gingerbread cookies and bedtime truffles are just some of the extras that make a stay at this Gold Rush-era hotel a lot of fun.
When Kevin Wilsey heard the Nature Conservancy was going to sell Highlands Ranch, 175 acres of sweeping grasslands on the doorstep of Lassen National Park, he jumped at the chance to return to the alpine valley where he’d spent summers as a child.
The property’s decrepit buildings have been transformed into a rustic-luxe resort with a dude ranch vibe — think romantic hideaway and grown-up summer camp rolled into one.
Floor-to-ceiling windows frame meadow-to-mountain views, while each private cottage features cushy armchairs pulled up to a giant stone fireplace.
In the lodge, chef Joseph Symmes flies in fresh fish from Hawaii and stocks the box lunches available to hikers with his five-chile potato chips.