weekender.
Weekend trips from Simpson University
Hidden spots near Redding, day trips and weekend road trips from Simpson University in November, scored 1–10 on price, timing and what's happening, with gas, park fees, a campsite or room and food included.
Plan your own trip from Simpson University →Local finds near campus
Sundial Bridge & Turtle Bay
A glass-decked bridge that's also the world's largest working sundial, over the Sacramento River.
Shasta Dam & Lake Shasta Caverns
Walk across a dam twice the height of Niagara Falls with Mount Shasta behind it.
Whiskeytown Falls
A 220-foot waterfall that was only 'rediscovered' in 2004, and a clear lake with sandy beaches.
Day trips
Feather Falls
A 400-foot waterfall at the end of a forest trail near Lake Oroville.
Burney Falls & Subway Cave
A waterfall that pours out of the rock face, and a lava tube you walk through in the dark.
Avenue of the Giants
A 31-mile road through old-growth redwoods, with drive-through and walk-through trees.
Mount Shasta & Castle Crags
A lone volcano with crystal shops in town, McCloud's three waterfalls and granite spires.
Lassen Volcanic
Boiling mud pots and steam vents at Bumpass Hell, and a summit hike on a volcano.
Weekend trips
Nevada City & South Yuba
A gaslit Gold Rush town and emerald swimming holes on the South Yuba River.
Bodega Bay & Sonoma Coast
Where Hitchcock filmed The Birds: whale-watching headlands and secret coves.
Point Reyes
Tule elk on the bluffs, a lighthouse 300 steps down a cliff, and oysters on Tomales Bay.
Columbia State Historic Park
Pan for gold and ride a stagecoach in a preserved 1850s mining town.
Muir Woods & Mount Tam
Old-growth redwoods in a canyon, then the sunset over the fog from Mount Tamalpais.
Angel Island
A ferry to a car-free island with 360° bay views and the immigration station's poems.
Long weekends
Nevada City & South Yuba
A gaslit Gold Rush town and emerald swimming holes on the South Yuba River.
Bodega Bay & Sonoma Coast
Where Hitchcock filmed The Birds: whale-watching headlands and secret coves.
Point Reyes
Tule elk on the bluffs, a lighthouse 300 steps down a cliff, and oysters on Tomales Bay.
Columbia State Historic Park
Pan for gold and ride a stagecoach in a preserved 1850s mining town.
Half Moon Bay & Pescadero
Tide pools at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve and warm artichoke bread in tiny Pescadero.
Muir Woods & Mount Tam
Old-growth redwoods in a canyon, then the sunset over the fog from Mount Tamalpais.
Personalize it
Set your budget, how many friends are coming, your car (or no car: train and bus), and what you're into (hiking, beaches, camping, stargazing, food and more), and Weekender re-ranks every trip for you, with a day-by-day plan, directions and campsites.
Find my trips from Simpson University →