My husband and I have taken a lot of trips to Southern California (since we have family down there) and we always seem to feel stressed with the traffic and big city, so decided that we wanted to explore new places this year where it was more green and full of nature. So we decided to go to Redding, California!
I am a fan of tiny home shows on HGTV, so when we were looking for a place to stay while we were there I found the cutest tiny home called Tiny Casa on Airbnb in the middle of the forest- so we reserved it. We have heard great things about McArthur-Burney Falls and Lassen Volcanic Monument National Park so we decided to go visit those places with our daughter.
DAY ONE: We left Thursday morning which it was a 2 hour and 30 minute hour drive from where we live. Since we got there earlier than expected our Airbnb host was sweet enough to let us check- in early. This Airbnb had everything we needed,all we needed to do is bring food and clothes.
DAY TWO: we left early Friday morning to Lassen Volcanic National Park (an hour drive from Redding, California). When we got there we decided before entering the National Park to visit Subway Cave which was FREE, just make sure when you visit to bring a good carrier for your child, sweaters (temperatures drop down there) and a good flashlight because it is pitch black down there. The three of us really enjoyed exploring the cave and reading all about the caves and how lave use to go through it.
Next we visited the Lassen Volcanic Monument National Park, the entrance through the park was $30, which is good for 7 days if your staying there longer. Since we were there for one day we explored the park all in one day, which was so much fun. One side of the park it was super sunny and hot, the trees were so green and the water was great for kayaking. We ate our packed lunch there before we continued the park.
After lunch we continued our drive through the park, halfway up the mountain it started to get cloudy and snowy… yes SNOW in July. Our two year old loves to play in the snow, she said it reminded her of Frozen. Once we stopped playing in the snow we started to drive higher and higher in the mountains, unfortunately the places we wanted to hike were closed due to the snow.
At the end of our drive we found a place called Sulphur Works, where there was hydrothermal area where there was a boiling mudpot. My daughter was so amazed to see that and it was seriously the coolest thing ever!
DAY THREE: we checked out of our Airbnb early Saturday morning and left to McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park (an hour drive from Redding, California). This drive was a lot more easier here than going to Lassen. The entrance to the park was $10, we got there at 9am so it was barely getting full.
The hike to the waterfall was about a mile long going down- easy with our daughter but we had her on backpack with a leash to make sure she didn’t go off the trail or fall. The waterfall was seriously unreal and beautiful, it was totally worth the hour drive. After we hiked the Falls Loop Trail, it was so easy Abby did the whole thing without being held once. But she did take a good nap after that hike. The park had a lot of picnic space, so we ate our lunch there.
We seriously enjoyed our trip so much that we are planning on going camping in that area next summer, I totally recommend anyone to go with your family and explore- it’s totally KID- FRIENDLY!
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