A sprawling expanse of chain stores with a shopping mall in its heart and a poured-concrete convention center at its gate, REDDING sticks out as an anomaly amidst the natural splendor that makes up the northern interior. The region's largest city, with 70,000 people, it's acted as a northern nexus since the late-nineteenth century, when the Central Pacific railroad came through. Today it remains a crossroads, bulging with cookie-cutter motels and diners. Along Market Street (Hwy-273): Best Western Hospitality House , 532 N Market St (tel 530/241-6464 or 1-800/700-3019; $50-75/$75-100), is a typical option; the Deluxe Inn , 1135 Market St (tel 530/243-5141; $35-50/$50-75), is slightly less luxurious but close to the Greyhound station.

SHASTA , six miles west of Redding and not to be confused with Mount Shasta, is more appealing, though barely. These half-ruined brick buildings were once a booming gold-mining town, literally at the end of the road from San Francisco and on the very edge of the wilderness. The courthouse has been turned into a museum (Wed-Sun 10am-5pm; $2) full of historical California artwork and mining paraphernalia; the gallows and prison cells are a grim reminder of the once daily executions.

Precipitous Hwy-299 climbs from Shasta into the Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area , where the artificial beaches, forests and camping facilities at three lakes - Clair Eagle, Whiskeytown and Shasta - meet the needs of waterskiers, sailors and wilderness hikers. Sadly, during summer it's completely congested, as windsurfers, motorboats, jet skis and recreational vehicles block the narrow routes which serve the lakes. An extensive system of tunnels, dams and aqueducts directs the plentiful waters of the Sacramento River in to California's central valley to irrigate cash crops. The lakes are pretty enough, but residents complain they're not a patch on the wild waters that used to flow from the mountains before the Central Valley Project came along in the 1960s.