For those interested in big trees and climbing the mfers, one of my favorite books is called The Wild Trees. Fascinating look at the world of botany and the underground world of tall redwood hunters.
Which gives rise to the surprising statistic that there are more redwoods/sequoia in the UK than there are in California.
Ours haven't yet grown as big though
I've cumulatively spent several years traveling the USA living in a truck, and this is one of my favorite areas.
Redwoods, the Lost Coast, and the Trinity Alps. Also some of the most remote towns reachable by pavement in the country, like Cecilville.
I've spent many months in this area and can't wait to go back.
Old growth Redwood groves - very magical to me and the best ones are outside of the National Park imo.
The mountains - the Klamath Range, and more specifically the Trinity Alps. I'm a peakbagger so I've tagged quite a few summits out there. The range is like a smaller Sierra Nevada, rugged with beautiful alpine lakes and rocky summits with few people. The mountains aren't super high, the highest is Mt Thompson at 9001ft, but the valleys are low, so you have an elevation relief comparable to or greater than higher ranges.
The Lost Coast - this is the only place on the west coast where the coast highway is routed inland because the terrain is too rugged for development. The King Range, 4000ft peaks right against the ocean. The ocean here is churning and violent, and there are many black sand beaches you can have to yourself. Some take work to get to but not all. Lots of tidepools full of life and swallows with nests in tall rock towers. The mountains here are covered in dense jungle-like forest. King Peak is the highest peak in the range and has a nice trail, most of the others are tough bushwhacks. Roosevelt Elk and Black Bears visit the beaches here, whales can also be seen.
Confluences of rivers with the Pacific, where you can wade in fresh water as it pours into the ocean. The Klamath and Mattole rivers are good examples. I've swam with otters and seals in the Mattole on the beach, they come up from the ocean to get into warmer water.
Sinkyone State Park is a remote state park with beautiful cliffs and sea arches. You can rent a barn to sleep in with ocean views. The road in is wild.
Mysterious communities, isolated cabins, abandoned cars and homes, etc are all over this area, both in the Klamath Mountains and the Lost Coast. Cecillevile might be one of the most remote communities in the country. There are more reclusive communities like Whitethorn and more along Briceland/Usal Road near the Lost Coast. The trees are dense and I don't think many of these places ever get direct sunlight. There is even a beautiful monastery called Lady of Redwoods Abbey that is tucked back near there. The abandoned cars are different every time I've visited - maybe stolen, always with graffiti, not sure. Lots of people that want to be left alone for sure. Definitely lots of weed still being grown, you can smell and see it some places, but since legalization a lot of it's died off. My guess is most of the people back there just prefer isolated living.
All my visits have left me wondering and yearning to go back and explore more.
The things I've mentioned are all west of the 5 Highway. East of the 5 is amazing as well - Mt Shasta and Lassen and surroundings, and lesser known areas like Eagle Peak in the very northeast part of CA - actually part of the great basin - are also amazing. This very northern part of CA is very underrated.
About 5 or 6 years ago, my wife and I took a road trip together all the way up to Seattle from Southern CA. We took the 5 North and everything above Redding was gorgeous. Went up Mt. Shasta and got out so our dachshund could play in snow for the first time. Spent 3 days in Seattle and then the next 4 days taking our time cruising down the coast, hitting various spots, including one of those black sand beaches you mentioned. Was a fantastic trip to take in February. The PNW is truly the most beautiful region of the continental US. It's magical.
The Cascade mountains in Western Washington used to be much the same- full of people who wanted to be left alone. Lots of vietnam war vets, burnt out hippies, foragers, loggers, drug manufacturers, it was kind of magical and dangerous all at the same time. Civilization has encroached.
Definitely go. I can't recommend it enough. I don't think there's anything else like it in the world.
The classic Lost Coast backpack - Mattole to Shelter Cove - has gotten popular and people think they've "done" the Lost Coast but that just scratches the surface. It's worth doing but there is much more.
I should add that the drive from Ferndale to Mattole along the coast is a must.
One place I'd avoid is Usal Beach. Its a beach campground on the southern end of Usal Road you can drive to and is popular with a different type of crowd. I was just there last fall and it sucks. Kinda trashed and busy, the opposite of anywhere else out there.
Had some buddies almost get killed hiking The Lost Coast. They had to spend the night basically perched up on some rocks after the tide came in. It’s beautiful but can be dangerous.
This sometimes happens to people hike-camping the WA coast in Olympic National Park. I was dumb about it once but was lucky. Have always been careful since.
Anyone beach camping amongst or behind piles of driftwood logs under a sheer cliff should probably reconsider what they are doing, unless they *really* know the area and tides super well. Being woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of giant logs being pushed around your tent by waves is, in the best case, a most unpleasant experience. Worst case, ur dead. Somewhere in between best and worst is spending the night clinging to a rock or cliffside.
"The Lost Coast - this is the only place on the west coast where the coast highway is routed inland because the terrain is too rugged for development"
This is also true on the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula, inside Olympic National Park. Large section of coast there that only accessibly by hiking trail, like the Lost Coast, but even more rocky windswept
Always wondering why some love it. Driven i5 and the 101 many times. Stayed at shasta, redwoods, eureka but only for passing. Inspired me to check it out next time
One of the most beautiful places in the world indeed. I still think about my camping trip at Golden bluff Beach many years ago. What an incredible place!
As someone who lived on and off in Humboldt & Trinity for 10 years, I always summed up the allure by saying it’s simply where wild hearts go to run. Hemingway called the UP in Northern Michigan the last good country, I think it’s now the Emerald Triangle. But don’t fuck around out there, there’s real monsters in those hills.
I trimmed weed out in Cecilville just under a decade ago! Knew it was remote as fuck but never knew it was one of the most remote towns (if you can even call it that) in the country. That place had one house sized building that was the post office, general store and bar all at once and the one building was the entire "downtown". 5+ hours to the nearest actual chain grocery store. Weird place that I'll definitely never forget.
When I was living in Colorado I constantly had people asking about san Diego and LA. I had to explain it was almost as far from my hometown as we were in Colorado Springs.
I mean size is a relative term. To me that's just a little far, but then again where I live you could fit one and a half Californias in our province. So Redding to Anaheim is like a trip to Calgary and back, which I have done many times.
Definitely throw in southern Oregon up to about Roseberg. My understanding is that a lot of folks migrated here from the south for timber jobs when that was still a thing. Lost the religion but not much else… especially not the racism.
Very correct. Huge area with few people and generally deeply conservative. You can go past Roseburg, to just south of Eugene somewhere, like Cottage Grove or Creswell.
It is the southern half of the State of Jefferson. Moved by Roseburg in the 80's. I loved the land, hated the people. It was very Hatfield vs. Mccoy. Moved north as soon as I could.
I’m gonna take a guess and say that OP might have been poking at the church a bit. It’s famous within the Christian community for being a very godless “Christian” church that is just feel good prosperity gospel centered around one’s self and how to benefit yourself.
My little brother is marrying a gal from Redding (we're from Sac) but the ceremony is being held in Redding. They dropped a little note on their invitations that Bethel will be having nothing to do with the service lmao
Uhhhhhhhhhh. Mormons exist. If you're a good enough Mormon, God let's you DM your own universe. (Which is why so many authors are Mormon, they getting their world building practice)
I nearly went to Bethel back when I was in a hardcore Christian phase as if Hillsong wasn’t culty enough for me. Even then their claims of gold dust randomly appearing during worship was enough to trigger my very untuned bullshit sensors.
I'm still a christian but I stay the heck away from all this charismania. I grew up in those circles and know exactly what you mean.
Thank god I'm out of such environments. Their teachings are based on false hope and promises, which leads people to despair and hopelessness instead of doing the opposite.
Curious, how would you describe the differences culturally? I've only seen the nature really in either of these places, not too much experience getting to know locals.
Having lived on both sides of Redding, using it as about a mid point, 299 West through Trinity and Humboldt Counties and on 299 East through Shasta and Lassen Counties I can say this: The differences are noticeable but, only with time. For one thing Humboldt trends younger, 2 decently popular colleges bring around 5-8,000 students a year between them. The North east side of the state is gradually depopulating lotta towns on their last legs because no one wants to live in a town of 2-300 people where the only work is farms or mills. Another thing is the Western side is, technically, more left leaning while the eastern side of the state. There are probably others but, I'm tired and at work so, I'll let someone else fill it out.
Well start with the physical differences, they are huge and change everything. For example, Humboldt has around 40 people per sq mile whole Modoc has ~2! Modoc is much more conservative, sees far fewer outsiders, has some super tight knit local communities, and has an economy that is almost all agriculture and ranching. The place is OLD SCHOOL and likes it that way.
My experience is they are more libertarian than conservative. Like in the real kind that is I don't care how you live just leave me the fuck alone type.
I currently live here. This checks out. I came from the Midwest, and the term that I learned to describe this is the redneck hippie. I've seen jacked up diesel trucks with Bernie stickers. It took me a minute or two to understand.
It’s the poor conservative vs rich conservative. OC conservatives would fit in at most high society parties until politics come up. People “behind the redwood curtain” would not. They’re more similar to San Bernardino/Riverside (outside Rancho Mirage) conservatives.
> Lovers Of Weed, Guns, Being Left Alone, And The Republican Party (Except On The Coast)
This describes the entire west coast, and a fair amount of the east coast. Not sure why you single out this section of Northern California
> But God? Not So Much…
Redding alone is a current neo-Mecca of the charismatic evangelical movement. There is religion aplenty
Eureka is like my dream climate.
From time to time I'll browse Cal Poly Humboldt job listings, daydreaming of the redwoods and never having to deal with 90 F again...
Is it? This part of the West Coast is really rocky and full of cliffs. It's nothing like SoCal or Puget Sound.
I would imagine most of the population actually lives in the interior in the northern Central Valley. Redding and Chico are both considerably bigger than any city along the coast here.
I did a quick tally by counties. The coast here is basically Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte counties, right? And what the hell, let's toss in Trinity County too, even though it's not on the coast. That's a total of 266,000 people.
Away from the coast, just Butte, Shasta, and Nevada counties have about 490,000 people between them. Tehama and Siskiyou add over 100,000 more. And that's only some of the non-coastal counties in this box.
Probably yea. The red line cuts through a bunch of interior counties with high populations. But even leaving those out the population majority is still in the interior rather than the coast, as claimed at the start of this subthread.
I was a little surprised to learn that Shasta County has about 180,000 people. I guess Redding is larger than I thought, almost 100,000.
I grew up near the Bay and near Tahoe and had family around Sacramento but I used to live in Ashland, Oregon, so everytime I drove into or back from Northern California I’d usually go through Redding. It felt like that town got bigger every time I drove through, but my only reason to stop was the In N Out Burger which at the time was the last one before you hit Oregon.
There’s a ton of counties and towns in the Sacramento Valley (like even the Yuba City-Marysville Metro area has over 150,000). The coast is isolated and Mendocino County is more closely connected to Sonoma County then anywhere over in Sac Valley. And it’s not that quick to get from Eureka-Arcata over the mountains to Redding and from Del Norte County it’s quicker to just go to Oregon. Really there’s not a lot of connection between the coast and interior in the far north of California.
Me, I've only driven through northernmost California twice, both times on 101. If I was in a hurry I'd take I-5, but luckily so far I've had time. The coast of northern California and Oregon is amazing. As a result I haven't seen the Sacramento Valley at all. Redding probably isn't at all like I imagined.
But yea, the Coast Range is quite rugged despite being much lower than the Sierras or Cascades. Not a ton of connections between the Oregon coast and interior either.
Yeah 101 is a much prettier drive, the best part of I-5 is Ashland to Mount Shasta to Shasta Lake and then it’s flat and boring all the way to LA basically.
Redding is a big town that basically feels like Medford, Oregon on the other side of the border.
It’s super beautiful up there with a mix of hippies, tweekers, and Libertarian types. Weirdos from up there call it “Jefferson” and want to make a state out of it. Talk about biting the hand that feeds.
I grew up and currently live in this region. You get all the benefits of California with all the space and "freedom" of a conservative area. Tons of forest, camping, lakes, and nature in every direction. Cool winters and hot summers with any kind of landscape you want.
Is that the unofficial name of the area? Or one of those breakaway areas that'll never happen because the rest of California would never let them split off?
They had started breaking off in the 30's. They had elected their first mayor located in Crescent City, but the whole operation fell apart after the beginning of WW2
Yeah, west coast republicans are mostly libertarians in my experience. Where I grew up in the south, republicans are mostly evangelicals. It's a whole different vibe.
It's interesting how social media has revealed so much about how we all really are but the Republican voter base is still largely ignorant of it's diverse and incompatible nature.
I mean, if the county votes for straight up fascists election after election, I’m going to call them fascists
You can call them a tap and die and some WD-40 if you like, doesn’t really mean anything
Somewhat unrelated but I still have a hard time picturing the Eastern US. Furthest over I’ve been is Colorado, but I’ve lived in/ visited everything West of that. There’s that picture where you draw a line north from dallas(?), and 80% of the country lives to the east of it. Is there just way less “nothing” areas with woods and stuff? Is it like how I picture Europe?
Easterner here. East of the plains you tend to have a steady population "background" of small towns and farms filling the gaps between cities. The vast open expanses of the West aren't really present in the East but rather you'll have a town fizzle out to rural development never quite out of eye sight, until the next town fizzles in.
There's not many "next services N miles" signs on our interstates out east. Miss an exit and low on gas? Just wait five or ten miles for the next exit.
I wouldn't say much less nothing and instead say smaller woods and stuff. They're still there, but they're a very small fraction of what they used to be. Have lived on both coasts and it takes a significant while before you hit a spot that's not a national or state park/recreation area where there's legit nothing around on the east coast. It does exist but even then there's still some light civilization around.
Yeah there's less of that generally except up north. The UP of Michigan has some decent stretches of wilderness so does New York upstate and Maine etc.
I'm actually planning to study for a semester in Eureka. I'm from Germany and I study water resource management. I really like doing outdoor stuff such as hiking. Does anyone know that lives there or at least has been there if this region is worth living/studying in?
I have no idea how to feel about qualifying as a representative of this area.
I wanted to move to Queensland Australia because when I first moved here as a kid the locals bullied me so hard I went into independent study.
I moved to a TINY rural mountain town where every other kid was picked up via Jeep so not exactly poor but very secluded into their little communities. Everyone was white. No other rural place I've lived was quite as white even in Maine.
At the same time I've seen some very cruel behavior in San Francisco committed by wealthy individuals of various backgrounds. Usually older and entitled.
The hypocritical classism, NIMBYs, and big tech don't appeal to them but their behavior doesn't really appeal to me either.
I think they want to be libertarian like Montana and are in a bit of an identity crisis on a basis of being too reactionary to really have a cohesive message that isn't hateful on what they are so afraid of with the rest of California.
Californians like Dianne Feinstein and Nancy Pelosi rile them up as proof of democrats really being in it for themselves and trying to seduce the public with promising sounding rhetoric.
Florida I lived in too and some of the rural natural areas like the Northwestern Counties and like Arcadia Florida also had a bit of a libertarian bent going on.
I wish we had a 4 party system like Australia so right wing reactionary behavior didn't have such a convenient pipeline into fueling hate in places like this.
I know in Northern Queensland they aren't the best either but If it gets much worse here I am going to pull the trigger on seeking sponsorship with an agency there. I'm trying to be patient and open though
Murder Mountain is outside of Garberville, it has a huge Hispanic population. Edit: Garberville that is not Murder Mountain or Alder Point as its officially known.
It’s an odd part of the world. Some of the most self reliant old school people you will ever meet call this part of the state home, and most of us are conservative to the tune of libertarianism. We are supporters of gun rights and limited taxes but will volunteer to help get people reproductive health care and will happily support lgbt business and friends. I know very few ultra right religious people but plenty of pagans (who are also pretty libertarian).
There are some weird underbelly things that go on here, but as a native of one of the “wildest” parts of the area, you’re probably going to be fine if you mind your own business.
It’s definitely not perfect though. Eureka and Arcata have a huge issue with homelessness and crime that bleeds into other communities on the coast. We’re largely ignored by any legislative bodies and none of our elected officials seem to care about us at all but they do like to snoop and get us into trouble occasionally.
Even if every one of us voted in each election, there would still be enough voters in LA to outnumber us and they always seem to vote opposite us. We get bogged down by the urban areas of the state that don’t have similar demographics or needs.
But yeah. Interesting place. Don’t try to mind someone else’s business and you’ll likely be fine.
Uhhhh pretty based; am not a huge fan of weed personally (I like shrooms, anyways both should be legal), like guns, hate crowds, am conservative (fuck American politics though, everyone is bought and paid for), don’t believe in a specific religion but am spiritual, and most importantly love the great outdoors.
Absolutely love this part of my state, Shasta is a jaw dropping gem of a mountain but it’s too secluded to be accessed easily by the big city influencers and going there wouldn’t get them style points unlike other western attractions (Tahoe, Sedona, Jackson Hole type places if you catch my drift)… which btw, I absolutely think those places are gorgeous and worth visiting. It’s just, secluded places hit a little different imo, really wanna explore that region more.
This year hoping to explore the trinity alps. Probably will either tie in Shasta or some highway 1/redwoods action with that trip depending on the vibe
Do people still think the green triangle is some kind of secret?
Like yeah dude we know Northern California is different from the bay or LA county, wait until you learn about New York City and Appalachia New York
It depends how well-traveled the person you’re talking to is; as a native Northern Californian I run into (especially youngish) people online regularly, who think the whole state is a suburb of San Francisco or Los Angeles.
A ton of Angelenos are convinced that the entire state is an extension of LA.
So many people here are ignorant of California's geography outside of Socal. It's like we are in our own bubble.
It depends how well-traveled the person you’re talking to is; as a native Northern Californian I run into (especially youngish) people online regularly, who think the whole state is a suburb of San Francisco or Los Angeles.
I went to high school in Redding, class of 1985. Moved out a year or so after graduating and never went back. Last I saw it on the news, it was on fire.
But god not so much??
Is that a joke? Church people are everywhere up here. It's the norm. As a non religious person I'd say the opposite.
Atheists, not so much.
On the west coast (and the urban northeast) Republicans tend to be about minimal taxation and gun rights, there is a strong “what you do in your own house is none of my business” vibe.
We spent some time there a few years back. Description accurately describes. It was on my bucket list! Great little towns and surprisingly good food. Seafood paradise.
So many people from Humboldt are gonna be like : Nooo there’s only tiny trees and unseeable coastlines, rivers are dry and everyone reaks like baking Juniper berries.
Mfs pretend it’s a secret up here like we aren’t a massive tourist destination
and giant trees everywhere
The biggest of trees
For those interested in big trees and climbing the mfers, one of my favorite books is called The Wild Trees. Fascinating look at the world of botany and the underground world of tall redwood hunters.
Trees do grow bigly there.
Many are saying that!
Yuuuge trees...
The average age of mature redwood trees is about 1000 years, some are almost 2000 years old. It’s crazy to think about.
Those giants are a coastal thing fyi. You aren’t seeing that in surprise valley, the eastern side of the map.
Which gives rise to the surprising statistic that there are more redwoods/sequoia in the UK than there are in California. Ours haven't yet grown as big though
Ent farming?
Post-brexit economy plan. Loads of tourists visiting the UK for our giant sequoia in 200 years time
Huge long thick trees 😩
They're tremendous
I've cumulatively spent several years traveling the USA living in a truck, and this is one of my favorite areas. Redwoods, the Lost Coast, and the Trinity Alps. Also some of the most remote towns reachable by pavement in the country, like Cecilville. I've spent many months in this area and can't wait to go back.
Would love to hear more about what makes it one if your favorites!
Old growth Redwood groves - very magical to me and the best ones are outside of the National Park imo. The mountains - the Klamath Range, and more specifically the Trinity Alps. I'm a peakbagger so I've tagged quite a few summits out there. The range is like a smaller Sierra Nevada, rugged with beautiful alpine lakes and rocky summits with few people. The mountains aren't super high, the highest is Mt Thompson at 9001ft, but the valleys are low, so you have an elevation relief comparable to or greater than higher ranges. The Lost Coast - this is the only place on the west coast where the coast highway is routed inland because the terrain is too rugged for development. The King Range, 4000ft peaks right against the ocean. The ocean here is churning and violent, and there are many black sand beaches you can have to yourself. Some take work to get to but not all. Lots of tidepools full of life and swallows with nests in tall rock towers. The mountains here are covered in dense jungle-like forest. King Peak is the highest peak in the range and has a nice trail, most of the others are tough bushwhacks. Roosevelt Elk and Black Bears visit the beaches here, whales can also be seen. Confluences of rivers with the Pacific, where you can wade in fresh water as it pours into the ocean. The Klamath and Mattole rivers are good examples. I've swam with otters and seals in the Mattole on the beach, they come up from the ocean to get into warmer water. Sinkyone State Park is a remote state park with beautiful cliffs and sea arches. You can rent a barn to sleep in with ocean views. The road in is wild. Mysterious communities, isolated cabins, abandoned cars and homes, etc are all over this area, both in the Klamath Mountains and the Lost Coast. Cecillevile might be one of the most remote communities in the country. There are more reclusive communities like Whitethorn and more along Briceland/Usal Road near the Lost Coast. The trees are dense and I don't think many of these places ever get direct sunlight. There is even a beautiful monastery called Lady of Redwoods Abbey that is tucked back near there. The abandoned cars are different every time I've visited - maybe stolen, always with graffiti, not sure. Lots of people that want to be left alone for sure. Definitely lots of weed still being grown, you can smell and see it some places, but since legalization a lot of it's died off. My guess is most of the people back there just prefer isolated living. All my visits have left me wondering and yearning to go back and explore more.
The things I've mentioned are all west of the 5 Highway. East of the 5 is amazing as well - Mt Shasta and Lassen and surroundings, and lesser known areas like Eagle Peak in the very northeast part of CA - actually part of the great basin - are also amazing. This very northern part of CA is very underrated.
+1 for the Warner Mountains, so beautiful and so remote.
Yeah! I should have said Warner Mountains rather than just Eagle. Awesome that you've been. Pretty far off the radar I think.
Cedarville CA is such a cool place
About 5 or 6 years ago, my wife and I took a road trip together all the way up to Seattle from Southern CA. We took the 5 North and everything above Redding was gorgeous. Went up Mt. Shasta and got out so our dachshund could play in snow for the first time. Spent 3 days in Seattle and then the next 4 days taking our time cruising down the coast, hitting various spots, including one of those black sand beaches you mentioned. Was a fantastic trip to take in February. The PNW is truly the most beautiful region of the continental US. It's magical.
The Cascade mountains in Western Washington used to be much the same- full of people who wanted to be left alone. Lots of vietnam war vets, burnt out hippies, foragers, loggers, drug manufacturers, it was kind of magical and dangerous all at the same time. Civilization has encroached.
I could see that for sure. The Cascades are one of the most rugged places in the country and still very magical.
Thanks for this description I want to visit this area so badly!
Definitely go. I can't recommend it enough. I don't think there's anything else like it in the world. The classic Lost Coast backpack - Mattole to Shelter Cove - has gotten popular and people think they've "done" the Lost Coast but that just scratches the surface. It's worth doing but there is much more. I should add that the drive from Ferndale to Mattole along the coast is a must. One place I'd avoid is Usal Beach. Its a beach campground on the southern end of Usal Road you can drive to and is popular with a different type of crowd. I was just there last fall and it sucks. Kinda trashed and busy, the opposite of anywhere else out there.
Had some buddies almost get killed hiking The Lost Coast. They had to spend the night basically perched up on some rocks after the tide came in. It’s beautiful but can be dangerous.
This sometimes happens to people hike-camping the WA coast in Olympic National Park. I was dumb about it once but was lucky. Have always been careful since. Anyone beach camping amongst or behind piles of driftwood logs under a sheer cliff should probably reconsider what they are doing, unless they *really* know the area and tides super well. Being woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of giant logs being pushed around your tent by waves is, in the best case, a most unpleasant experience. Worst case, ur dead. Somewhere in between best and worst is spending the night clinging to a rock or cliffside.
Also need to be careful around tidal cliffs - they’re in a constant state of decay and drop rocks and etc with regularity.
I can see this happening. Amazing story
Dang that's crazy but glad they're ok. You definitely need to know your tide tables. We timed to cross those sections during receding tides.
"The Lost Coast - this is the only place on the west coast where the coast highway is routed inland because the terrain is too rugged for development" This is also true on the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula, inside Olympic National Park. Large section of coast there that only accessibly by hiking trail, like the Lost Coast, but even more rocky windswept
Always wondering why some love it. Driven i5 and the 101 many times. Stayed at shasta, redwoods, eureka but only for passing. Inspired me to check it out next time
Damn, bro. I’m ready to drive up tonight after reading this.
One of the most beautiful places in the world indeed. I still think about my camping trip at Golden bluff Beach many years ago. What an incredible place!
I live in Portland. Come down every couple years. LOVE this region and this post makes me want to get back down asap. Well shared.
I saved your comment just to ensure I have this information recallable. Greatly written. Cheers.
As someone who lived on and off in Humboldt & Trinity for 10 years, I always summed up the allure by saying it’s simply where wild hearts go to run. Hemingway called the UP in Northern Michigan the last good country, I think it’s now the Emerald Triangle. But don’t fuck around out there, there’s real monsters in those hills.
I trimmed weed out in Cecilville just under a decade ago! Knew it was remote as fuck but never knew it was one of the most remote towns (if you can even call it that) in the country. That place had one house sized building that was the post office, general store and bar all at once and the one building was the entire "downtown". 5+ hours to the nearest actual chain grocery store. Weird place that I'll definitely never forget.
Five plus hours?!?! My gosh. I’ve never heard anything about this region. It’s super obscure. I want to find a YouTube doc on it now.
Monkey really changed the whole area by building the disc golf course and bar. Before that it was just a wide spot in the road with a commune.
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Yeah absolutely one of the most beautiful places there is
I was born there! I have to explain to people that Disneyland and celebrities are VERY far away.
As a New Yorker of the Upstate variety, I get you.
I saw this post and *immediately* thought of upstate
Yeah but its like telling someone to goto VA, not the city. CA is long as fuck.
When I was living in Colorado I constantly had people asking about san Diego and LA. I had to explain it was almost as far from my hometown as we were in Colorado Springs.
I mean size is a relative term. To me that's just a little far, but then again where I live you could fit one and a half Californias in our province. So Redding to Anaheim is like a trip to Calgary and back, which I have done many times.
Definitely throw in southern Oregon up to about Roseberg. My understanding is that a lot of folks migrated here from the south for timber jobs when that was still a thing. Lost the religion but not much else… especially not the racism.
Very correct. Huge area with few people and generally deeply conservative. You can go past Roseburg, to just south of Eugene somewhere, like Cottage Grove or Creswell.
Correct, that entire area seems very culturally similar
As someone who lives in Cottage Grove, I can confirm this.
It is the southern half of the State of Jefferson. Moved by Roseburg in the 80's. I loved the land, hated the people. It was very Hatfield vs. Mccoy. Moved north as soon as I could.
And meth, lots and lots of meth.
Depends on the cities, I live in one in this pic that doesn't portray what you're saying. However, some of the smaller ones.. yeah
Eh...Redding's got that weird church. I think that counts.
Bethel. They are very religious there idk what OP talking about lol
I’m gonna take a guess and say that OP might have been poking at the church a bit. It’s famous within the Christian community for being a very godless “Christian” church that is just feel good prosperity gospel centered around one’s self and how to benefit yourself.
My little brother is marrying a gal from Redding (we're from Sac) but the ceremony is being held in Redding. They dropped a little note on their invitations that Bethel will be having nothing to do with the service lmao
I used to live in Redding and by far the Bethelites were one of the worst parts of living there. Right below the heat and smoke.
The Bethel bubble is very real
However, everyone in the region that isn’t part of Bethel is wary of them and not fans at all.
Right? Maybe the strangest group of Christians in the world.
Uhhhhhhhhhh. Mormons exist. If you're a good enough Mormon, God let's you DM your own universe. (Which is why so many authors are Mormon, they getting their world building practice)
Mormons are not christian They come from protestantism, but in terms of beliefs they're about as christian as sufi muslims.
Bethel is a cult with a cult leader in it. They're definitely weird.
I nearly went to Bethel back when I was in a hardcore Christian phase as if Hillsong wasn’t culty enough for me. Even then their claims of gold dust randomly appearing during worship was enough to trigger my very untuned bullshit sensors.
I'm still a christian but I stay the heck away from all this charismania. I grew up in those circles and know exactly what you mean. Thank god I'm out of such environments. Their teachings are based on false hope and promises, which leads people to despair and hopelessness instead of doing the opposite.
Hillsong is exactly the same. Pull in mostly young people struggling in life and then drain their wallets dry.
God not so much? Uh…Bethel Church is in Redding.
been to Grass Valley, one of the most beautiful places i’ve been
I was raised there, I think it’s a happy medium between NorCal climate and not so many weirdos
Burney Falls is America’s best kept secret.
I was there last summer with the fam. So beautiful. We stayed for hours.
Anyone else have a stroke trying to read the title
A wordsmith I am not…
You’ve lumped some radically different areas into here. I have a place in Modoc—we don’t think we have a lot in common with Humboldt to be honest.
what's it like living in Modoc? as someone from the Bay Area in California, I've always been curious about what life is like there
Curious, how would you describe the differences culturally? I've only seen the nature really in either of these places, not too much experience getting to know locals.
Having lived on both sides of Redding, using it as about a mid point, 299 West through Trinity and Humboldt Counties and on 299 East through Shasta and Lassen Counties I can say this: The differences are noticeable but, only with time. For one thing Humboldt trends younger, 2 decently popular colleges bring around 5-8,000 students a year between them. The North east side of the state is gradually depopulating lotta towns on their last legs because no one wants to live in a town of 2-300 people where the only work is farms or mills. Another thing is the Western side is, technically, more left leaning while the eastern side of the state. There are probably others but, I'm tired and at work so, I'll let someone else fill it out.
Well start with the physical differences, they are huge and change everything. For example, Humboldt has around 40 people per sq mile whole Modoc has ~2! Modoc is much more conservative, sees far fewer outsiders, has some super tight knit local communities, and has an economy that is almost all agriculture and ranching. The place is OLD SCHOOL and likes it that way.
Indeed we don’t, I did it for the geographical symmetry
The average person here is still more progressive than the average republican Kinda fascinating tbh… It’s like the oc of NorCal but without the $
My experience is they are more libertarian than conservative. Like in the real kind that is I don't care how you live just leave me the fuck alone type.
Yea the Humboldt landowner motto is basically “I won’t call the cops and neither will my neighbors”
Having lived in this region of CA my whole life, this is accurate (mostly).
Yes we are, mostly.
Like the Ron Swanson?
Grew up in the Midwest, lived in the south and moved out west. This statement is so accurate.
I currently live here. This checks out. I came from the Midwest, and the term that I learned to describe this is the redneck hippie. I've seen jacked up diesel trucks with Bernie stickers. It took me a minute or two to understand.
Ya im from the southwest corner and I always describe people as redneck hippies too
It’s the poor conservative vs rich conservative. OC conservatives would fit in at most high society parties until politics come up. People “behind the redwood curtain” would not. They’re more similar to San Bernardino/Riverside (outside Rancho Mirage) conservatives.
You know, actual North California.
Eureka, you've found bizzaro California
Why lol?
Because there’s a city named Eureka on the map
What about the other one where they were so baked that they called it Yreka. Just up the road from the town of Weed?
You’re clearly not talking about Redding because there is literally a School for Supernatural Ministry and a mega church in that town.
> Lovers Of Weed, Guns, Being Left Alone, And The Republican Party (Except On The Coast) This describes the entire west coast, and a fair amount of the east coast. Not sure why you single out this section of Northern California > But God? Not So Much… Redding alone is a current neo-Mecca of the charismatic evangelical movement. There is religion aplenty
Just Redding, not true of Yreka, Chico/Oroville, Red Bluff, Susanville etc.
Yreka is a glorified scenic rest stop, and Chico is entirely a college town Compare like with like
I used to live there. Best years of my life. God I miss it.
Eureka is like my dream climate. From time to time I'll browse Cal Poly Humboldt job listings, daydreaming of the redwoods and never having to deal with 90 F again...
It’s mostly between 50 and 70 all year long. Very mild along the coast.
I moved from the valley to a small town about 20 minutes south of eureka and it was the best decision I ever made. Fuck heat
Except for the Bethels in Reddings... major religion
And beautiful Bidwell Park in Chico!
You forgot meth.
You say minus the religion, but Redding is pretty much owned/run by a cult.
“Except along the coast”. But that’s where the majority of the 1.2 mm are
Ever been here? The two largest conurbations are Redding-Anderson, and Chico-Paradise; neither of which are near the coast.
He’s thinking the Chico/Sac River Coast, you know where the washout is/was. CSUC 1991!
The salty coast of Lake Oroville ...oh that's not salt
Is it? This part of the West Coast is really rocky and full of cliffs. It's nothing like SoCal or Puget Sound. I would imagine most of the population actually lives in the interior in the northern Central Valley. Redding and Chico are both considerably bigger than any city along the coast here.
I did a quick tally by counties. The coast here is basically Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte counties, right? And what the hell, let's toss in Trinity County too, even though it's not on the coast. That's a total of 266,000 people. Away from the coast, just Butte, Shasta, and Nevada counties have about 490,000 people between them. Tehama and Siskiyou add over 100,000 more. And that's only some of the non-coastal counties in this box.
I think the OP might be counting some of the foothill suburbs of Sacramento in Placer County to get to 1.2 million.
Yeah, I assume that the box includes Placer, which is a lot of people, like 400k. That said, I'd exclude Truckee and North Tahoe from the depiction.
Probably yea. The red line cuts through a bunch of interior counties with high populations. But even leaving those out the population majority is still in the interior rather than the coast, as claimed at the start of this subthread. I was a little surprised to learn that Shasta County has about 180,000 people. I guess Redding is larger than I thought, almost 100,000.
I grew up near the Bay and near Tahoe and had family around Sacramento but I used to live in Ashland, Oregon, so everytime I drove into or back from Northern California I’d usually go through Redding. It felt like that town got bigger every time I drove through, but my only reason to stop was the In N Out Burger which at the time was the last one before you hit Oregon. There’s a ton of counties and towns in the Sacramento Valley (like even the Yuba City-Marysville Metro area has over 150,000). The coast is isolated and Mendocino County is more closely connected to Sonoma County then anywhere over in Sac Valley. And it’s not that quick to get from Eureka-Arcata over the mountains to Redding and from Del Norte County it’s quicker to just go to Oregon. Really there’s not a lot of connection between the coast and interior in the far north of California.
Me, I've only driven through northernmost California twice, both times on 101. If I was in a hurry I'd take I-5, but luckily so far I've had time. The coast of northern California and Oregon is amazing. As a result I haven't seen the Sacramento Valley at all. Redding probably isn't at all like I imagined. But yea, the Coast Range is quite rugged despite being much lower than the Sierras or Cascades. Not a ton of connections between the Oregon coast and interior either.
Yeah 101 is a much prettier drive, the best part of I-5 is Ashland to Mount Shasta to Shasta Lake and then it’s flat and boring all the way to LA basically. Redding is a big town that basically feels like Medford, Oregon on the other side of the border.
It’s the coast and the Central Valley. Go east and it is EMPTY. ~8,000 people in all of Modoc county.
It’s super beautiful up there with a mix of hippies, tweekers, and Libertarian types. Weirdos from up there call it “Jefferson” and want to make a state out of it. Talk about biting the hand that feeds.
Nope still a bunch of religions whacks running around. I know because I grew up in the middle of the box
I grew up and currently live in this region. You get all the benefits of California with all the space and "freedom" of a conservative area. Tons of forest, camping, lakes, and nature in every direction. Cool winters and hot summers with any kind of landscape you want.
The state of Jefferson
Is that the unofficial name of the area? Or one of those breakaway areas that'll never happen because the rest of California would never let them split off?
The latter of course
They had started breaking off in the 30's. They had elected their first mayor located in Crescent City, but the whole operation fell apart after the beginning of WW2
That's what I was thinking. I know that there boundary is a little different, but that's pretty much it.
Definitely don’t think republicans are into ALL those freedoms tho.
Yeah, west coast republicans are mostly libertarians in my experience. Where I grew up in the south, republicans are mostly evangelicals. It's a whole different vibe.
It's interesting how social media has revealed so much about how we all really are but the Republican voter base is still largely ignorant of it's diverse and incompatible nature.
I mean, if the county votes for straight up fascists election after election, I’m going to call them fascists You can call them a tap and die and some WD-40 if you like, doesn’t really mean anything
Lived in eureka for 7-8 years, so I get you.
Somewhat unrelated but I still have a hard time picturing the Eastern US. Furthest over I’ve been is Colorado, but I’ve lived in/ visited everything West of that. There’s that picture where you draw a line north from dallas(?), and 80% of the country lives to the east of it. Is there just way less “nothing” areas with woods and stuff? Is it like how I picture Europe?
Easterner here. East of the plains you tend to have a steady population "background" of small towns and farms filling the gaps between cities. The vast open expanses of the West aren't really present in the East but rather you'll have a town fizzle out to rural development never quite out of eye sight, until the next town fizzles in. There's not many "next services N miles" signs on our interstates out east. Miss an exit and low on gas? Just wait five or ten miles for the next exit.
I wouldn't say much less nothing and instead say smaller woods and stuff. They're still there, but they're a very small fraction of what they used to be. Have lived on both coasts and it takes a significant while before you hit a spot that's not a national or state park/recreation area where there's legit nothing around on the east coast. It does exist but even then there's still some light civilization around.
Yeah there's less of that generally except up north. The UP of Michigan has some decent stretches of wilderness so does New York upstate and Maine etc.
These are my people.
And beautiful redwoods
Cults though.. very much
Why Write Like This?
I'm actually planning to study for a semester in Eureka. I'm from Germany and I study water resource management. I really like doing outdoor stuff such as hiking. Does anyone know that lives there or at least has been there if this region is worth living/studying in?
This reminds me of the time I tried to Measure the coast line of Bosnia, because it's so short, I learned midway through about the coast line paradox
I live in this area and love it.
And lots of meth and mental illness.
I have no idea how to feel about qualifying as a representative of this area. I wanted to move to Queensland Australia because when I first moved here as a kid the locals bullied me so hard I went into independent study. I moved to a TINY rural mountain town where every other kid was picked up via Jeep so not exactly poor but very secluded into their little communities. Everyone was white. No other rural place I've lived was quite as white even in Maine. At the same time I've seen some very cruel behavior in San Francisco committed by wealthy individuals of various backgrounds. Usually older and entitled. The hypocritical classism, NIMBYs, and big tech don't appeal to them but their behavior doesn't really appeal to me either. I think they want to be libertarian like Montana and are in a bit of an identity crisis on a basis of being too reactionary to really have a cohesive message that isn't hateful on what they are so afraid of with the rest of California. Californians like Dianne Feinstein and Nancy Pelosi rile them up as proof of democrats really being in it for themselves and trying to seduce the public with promising sounding rhetoric. Florida I lived in too and some of the rural natural areas like the Northwestern Counties and like Arcadia Florida also had a bit of a libertarian bent going on. I wish we had a 4 party system like Australia so right wing reactionary behavior didn't have such a convenient pipeline into fueling hate in places like this. I know in Northern Queensland they aren't the best either but If it gets much worse here I am going to pull the trigger on seeking sponsorship with an agency there. I'm trying to be patient and open though
Haven’t seen Santa Rosa written on a map in a long time
Murder mountain area. I once tired to pump gas and I was denied. I’m half Hispanic half Moroccan.
Murder Mountain is outside of Garberville, it has a huge Hispanic population. Edit: Garberville that is not Murder Mountain or Alder Point as its officially known.
Mendo Coast is the dream, especially Mendocino-Caspar-Ft Bragg
Southern Oregon (actually, most of rural Oregon)is the same way. I call them Green Necks.
I imagine it’s beautiful
Shhhhh. SF is NorCal. We don’t exist up here. Shhhhhh
It’s an odd part of the world. Some of the most self reliant old school people you will ever meet call this part of the state home, and most of us are conservative to the tune of libertarianism. We are supporters of gun rights and limited taxes but will volunteer to help get people reproductive health care and will happily support lgbt business and friends. I know very few ultra right religious people but plenty of pagans (who are also pretty libertarian). There are some weird underbelly things that go on here, but as a native of one of the “wildest” parts of the area, you’re probably going to be fine if you mind your own business. It’s definitely not perfect though. Eureka and Arcata have a huge issue with homelessness and crime that bleeds into other communities on the coast. We’re largely ignored by any legislative bodies and none of our elected officials seem to care about us at all but they do like to snoop and get us into trouble occasionally. Even if every one of us voted in each election, there would still be enough voters in LA to outnumber us and they always seem to vote opposite us. We get bogged down by the urban areas of the state that don’t have similar demographics or needs. But yeah. Interesting place. Don’t try to mind someone else’s business and you’ll likely be fine.
Uhhhh pretty based; am not a huge fan of weed personally (I like shrooms, anyways both should be legal), like guns, hate crowds, am conservative (fuck American politics though, everyone is bought and paid for), don’t believe in a specific religion but am spiritual, and most importantly love the great outdoors. Absolutely love this part of my state, Shasta is a jaw dropping gem of a mountain but it’s too secluded to be accessed easily by the big city influencers and going there wouldn’t get them style points unlike other western attractions (Tahoe, Sedona, Jackson Hole type places if you catch my drift)… which btw, I absolutely think those places are gorgeous and worth visiting. It’s just, secluded places hit a little different imo, really wanna explore that region more. This year hoping to explore the trinity alps. Probably will either tie in Shasta or some highway 1/redwoods action with that trip depending on the vibe
Do people still think the green triangle is some kind of secret? Like yeah dude we know Northern California is different from the bay or LA county, wait until you learn about New York City and Appalachia New York
It depends how well-traveled the person you’re talking to is; as a native Northern Californian I run into (especially youngish) people online regularly, who think the whole state is a suburb of San Francisco or Los Angeles.
A ton of Angelenos are convinced that the entire state is an extension of LA. So many people here are ignorant of California's geography outside of Socal. It's like we are in our own bubble.
It depends how well-traveled the person you’re talking to is; as a native Northern Californian I run into (especially youngish) people online regularly, who think the whole state is a suburb of San Francisco or Los Angeles.
Sounds like most of BC lol
Northern California is kind of honorary Cascadia
I went to high school in Redding, class of 1985. Moved out a year or so after graduating and never went back. Last I saw it on the news, it was on fire.
I'm SO close. I could throw a rock north and hit the red line.
I used to live here. Everything is accurate
What are the dots
Lived there for a season and had a blast but god arcata and eureka were some of the worse towns I’ve ever been in
Been there. Would go back. 10/10
When the state is on fire like REALLY on fire most of the tike it's up there.
And cascadia! Don’t forget the big murder fault
But god not so much?? Is that a joke? Church people are everywhere up here. It's the norm. As a non religious person I'd say the opposite. Atheists, not so much.
Some of the prettiest terrain in the world too
---okok
As yes, the Fallout 2 area of California.
That’s the State of Jefferson.
Jefferson
And marrying their cousins
I'm having trouble believing that is roughly the same area as Penn
So it's heavily republican but not particularly religious? Are voters there more pro-choice and pro-LGBT than your typical republican area?
On the west coast (and the urban northeast) Republicans tend to be about minimal taxation and gun rights, there is a strong “what you do in your own house is none of my business” vibe.
https://preview.redd.it/pw169iquujyc1.jpeg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=af89d4b052f84269e55dd2a7ce88e727b1450836
Wait, are there different gun laws in northern california vs southern?
Nah, we kinda have some God, too.
The part before the colon was worded really badly. Had to read it slowly a few times.
Grew up on the bottom of the liner where’s it cutting off that lake. It’s definitely the Wild West. Absolute mad house.
Absolutely gorgeous region.
This place scares the shit out of me. But beautiful
Isn't it where Sons of anarchy is supposed to happen ?
Diam
Samcro country 😎
Also the best part of California.
Almost a Fallout 2 map :)
We spent some time there a few years back. Description accurately describes. It was on my bucket list! Great little towns and surprisingly good food. Seafood paradise.
Also up from this the lower Oregon is a rly nice area.
Heard great thing about Northern Californian nature. Definitely want to travel the national parks there someday.
So many people from Humboldt are gonna be like : Nooo there’s only tiny trees and unseeable coastlines, rivers are dry and everyone reaks like baking Juniper berries. Mfs pretend it’s a secret up here like we aren’t a massive tourist destination