World Atlas ranks Dunsmuir mountain town as one of best places to visit in America

A Northern California town with railroad history and mountain scenery has made the national travel rankings of World Atlas, alongside thirteen other small towns in the region.

The rankings highlighted the city of Dunsmuir, where it has an old downtown that sits at a Sacramento River canyon.

Trains still rumble daily through the Siskiyou County town, a former rail center where extra steam locomotives were added to assist trains traveling uphill to the north.

Now, it’s a hub for tourism that sits alongside the Interstate 5 north of Redding.

The travel rankings praise the town’s proximity to natural beauty, such as Hedge Creek Falls and Mossbrae Falls. Visitors can use short trails to reach them and an overlook over the Sacramento River.

Castle Crags State Park is also a few miles south of the rail city, with granite spires, forest trails and more views.

The river itself is nearby the town, so visitors can access trout fishing waters and shaded river areas. The upper Sacramento River through Dunsmuir is actually a year-round fishery with a wild trout reputation that draws anglers nationwide, according to a local restaurant.

In the downtown, one can admire historic buildings, old railroad architecture and small businesses nearby the railroad tracks.

Dunsmuir still has much of the charm and scale of the 1920s and 1930s, and has been designated on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Apparently, the water there is allegedly some of the best, according to Active NorCal. Tap water comes straight from Mount Shasta’s volcanic aquifers, part of the town’s longtime claim as home of the best water on earth.

A dozen other towns in Northern California also made World Atlas’s list this year, including Trinidad on the northern California Coast; Grass Valley, which sits northeast of Sacramento; McCloud near Mount Shasta; and Shelter Cove, on California’s Lost Coast.

Like Dunsmuir, many of them were highlighted for their historic features and closeness to natural views.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters