The true Northern California begins north of San Francisco and its urban sprawl, well away from the condominiums, the traffic jams, and the frenetic lifestyle of the city and its satellites - in the vicinity of Fort Bragg, halfway up the California coast between San Francisco Bay and the Oregon border. From this point northward, the California climate is different, the scenery is different, and the people are different. This is not urban country, it is outdoor country, where adventure - in one form or another - waits just around the bend. Magnificent Mt. Shasta, Marble Mountain Wilderness, Klamatch National Forest, Wild Horse Sanctuary, Pacific Crest Trail - these are just a few of the attractions here. Sparsely populated, heavily agricultural, the north-central part of California is a wide valley reaching from the Coast Range of mountains on the west to the mountainous forests on the east. The Gold Rush of the mid-1800s played a prominent role in stimulating the development of this part of the state, and in many places abandoned mines and ghost towns still polka-dot the hillsides. If the land has acquired a reputation as a travel destination, however, it is because of its majestic beauty ñ the beauty of its woods, lakes, rivers, and its singularly outstanding mountain, Mount Shasta. One of the most remote regions in the lower 48" states is the northeasterly corner of California. Still, it is beautiful country, checker-boarded with national and state forests, mountains, lakes, rushing rivers, and babbling streams. Cultural excursions, hiking, beach walking, skiing, canoeing, diving, biking, rafting tours - every activity is detailed here, along with all the information on where to stay, including camping, and where to eat in every part of Northern California.
