Plan a picnic in Mt. Shasta's City Park (msrec.org) where you can enjoy one of the four picnic areas while the kids play on one of the two playgrounds. The five public buildings in the park are available for rent and are commonly used for club gatherings, some public events and educational classes. Take a nature walk along the creek in the park on footpaths that wind through hedges of horsetail fern. Mt. Shasta City Park is located a mile north of Mt. Shasta City. Shastice Park is located in the eastern part of Mt. Shasta City on 38 acres of land. There you can reserve one of the picnic areas with barbecues and playgrounds. This park offers an ice-skating rink that is available for a limited time during the year from November to February. Play a game of baseball on the park's softball field, enjoy the undeveloped walking trails or a brisk game of tennis on the tennis courts.
The Mt. Shasta Fish Hatchery (mtshastachamber.com) is the oldest one west of the Mississippi, raising rainbow and brown trout. Open year-round to visitors from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.. The fish raised in the hatchery supply fishing areas in the Mt. Shasta area. The fish eggs hatch in early spring where more than 3 million fish are cared for until they can be released into the rivers, lakes and streams. The Sisson Museum (mountshastasissonmuseum.org), built in 1906, was previously the main hatchery for the California Department of Fish and Game. After being deemed unusable in 1978, the building was entirely renovated using donated labor and materials. It reopened as a museum in 1983.
The Mt. Shasta Brewing Company (weedales.com), makers of Weed beer, is a newcomer to the area. In 1992 the defunct Medo-Bel Creamery was renovated by Vaune Dillmann, who comes from a long line of German brewers. Located in Weed, California, near the College of the Siskiyous, the brewery hosts year-round events, including live music, movie nights and fundraisers. Join them for their annual Halloween party and win one of three prizes for the best three Halloween costumes. Or be there for Oktoberfest when all proceeds from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. are donated to the Weed High School football program.
The first Saturday of the summer months of June, July, August and September is devoted to art. The Brown Dog Gallery & Gifts displays and sells original art works from local artists in its outdoor garden area. The Brown Dog Gallery exhibits a collection of watercolors, oils, acrylics, sculptures, pottery, fragrant soaps and creams, as well as rugs and woven shawls. Join the gallery on one of its art retreats designed for budding artists who want to improve their skills. The Brown Dog Gallery & Gifts (browndoggallery.com) is located in McCloud, California.
The Mt. Shasta area has plenty of lakes, streams and rivers for fishing, many of which are open year-round. An excellent location for boat fishing, located about three miles west of Mt. Shasta, is Lake Siskiyou (visitsiskiyou.org), with 430 acres of recreational waters. Here, you can fish for brown trout and and rainbow trout. Shasta Lake (shastalakeguide.com) with its 365 miles of shoreline also offers fishing all year long. The lake is stocked yearly with around 50,000 fish in a large variety of species. In Shasta Lake, you will find salmon, brown and rainbow trout, largemouth and smallmouth bass, carp, catfish and squawfish, just to name a few.
