Shasta Cascade’s top rivers, lakes and waterfalls

The end of drought in the north state means vast opportunities for lake- and stream-based trips for camping, boating, fishing, waterfalls, swimming holes, paddling and rafting. Many rain gauges recorded 50 to 65 inches of rain across the region, and in the mountains, 10 to 20 more inches of water from snow. Hundreds of small high-mountain lakes are full across the Trinity Alps, Marble Mountains, Russians, Trinity-Divide, Bucks Lake, Caribou, Lassen and Thousand Lakes wilderness areas, and more. Across the region, only Trinity Lake and distant Eagle Lake failed to rise to historical average levels. The state’s most spectacular waterfalls outside of Yosemite are still flush, including Burney Falls, Feather Falls, Brandy Creek, Boulder Creek, Whiskeytown and McCloud’s Upper, Middle and Lower Falls. Shasta, Lassen, Trinity, Siskiyou, Modoc and Tehama. Because the north state is so different from the rest of California, with abundant natural resources, vast public lands and relatively low population, Plumas and Butte counties joined in the perpetual State of Jefferson movement — a long-proposed separate state comprising parts of far Northern California and southern Oregon — and are now considered members. The region is so big that it has five national forests — Klamath (1.7 million acres), Lassen (1.1 million), Modoc (1.7 million), Plumas (1.9 million) and Shasta-Trinity (2.2 million) — which collectively provide 8.6 million acres of public land. A search found 300 campgrounds, plus hundreds of primitive sites along small lakes in the wild, accessible by four-wheel-drive or overnight hike. Here are my favorite spots, including some lesser-known sites. Lake Almanor is the most famous lake in Plumas County, and there are dozens of small lakes and streams across Plumas National Forest with campsites, trout fishing, swimming and trailheads to the Pacific Crest Trail. Almanor, with a great view of Lassen Peak, has cabins, lodges, camping and trout fishing. Downstream of that is the North Fork Feather (the back road is now closed at Caribou) with more campsites, rafting and trout fishing. A network of Forest Service back roads in the areas provides access to many small lakes, including Silver Lake and Snake Lake, my favorites, and trailheads for the Bucks Lake Wilderness and the Middle Fork Feather River. The viewing deck is perched atop a knife-edged outcrop for a full frontal of 410-foot Feather Falls, and a side trail is routed to the brink. Oroville has great swimming, water sports and floating campsites that you reach by boat. The foothills are sprinkled with small lakes that include Paradise Lake to the north and remote Sly Creek Reservoir to the east. Easy Class I float trips, where you canoe, kayak or raft, can be made on a stretch of river that is very pretty with bend after bend, Anderson to Red Bluff. Via a dirt road from Highway 44, just inside the Lassen County line, you can gain entry to a lesser-seen region of Lassen Volcanic National Park, to Butte Lake and its nearby campground, with trailheads to the Cinder Cone, Prospect Peak and to Snag Lake in the wilderness. Out of Chester, again on a dirt road, you can also gain access to Juniper Lake, the prettiest campground at Lassen. To the nearby east, all the lakes filled in the remote Caribou Wilderness, with access on a dirt road off Highway 44. At this time last year, from the low water, giant Shasta Lake was starting to look like a dust bowl. From Redding, the Sacramento River is providing sensational fly fishing for trout, where anglers float from the Posse Grounds on downstream in drift boats. Lesser known are the boat-in campsites at Ahjumawi State Park, with excellent birdwatching and trout fishing. The Trinity Alps are one of California’s vast wilderness areas, 525,000 acres, with 55 alpine lakes. Of lakes you can reach by car, Lewiston, set below the Trinity Dam, is a jewel; always full, good trout fishing, with a 10-mph speed limit to keep it quiet and slow-paced. Along Highway 299, Bigfoot Rafting on the Trinity River has great low-cost family rafting trips, $69 for half day, $89 for full day. At 14,179 feet, Mount Shasta rises from the valley floor like a giant diamond, visible for 100 miles in all directions, from Willows in the Sacramento Valley to ridgetops across the north state. Within range to the west is the Trinity-Divide, crowned by 9,025-foot Mount Eddy, with dozens of small lakes tucked in pockets across national forest. The prettiest single view here is from a mountain wall that backs little Heart Lake above Castle Lake, with the trailhead located at the end of the road from Lake Siskiyou. On the south flank of giant Shasta is the McCloud Flats, with its sensational series of three waterfalls, and downstream, the blue-ribbon fly fishing section of the McCloud River managed by the Nature Conservancy. The landscape spans across South Warner Wilderness and its miniature mountain range, the Warner Mountains. Modoc is best known for its waterfowl and bald eagles out of Tule Lake, and to the west (in Siskiyou County) at Lower Klamath, and to the east at little-known Clear Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Whiskeytown National Recreation Area: