Whiskeytown National Recreation Area

The deep blue waters and forested mountains of Whiskeytown National Recreation Area create a peaceful landscape in northern California. Located near Redding, the park blends mountain scenery, clear lakes and remnants of California’s Gold Rush history into one setting.

At the center of the park is Whiskeytown Lake, a reservoir created in the 1960s as part of the massive Central Valley Project. This was designed to move water throughout California for agriculture, flood control and hydroelectric power.

The name Whiskeytown reaches back to the California Gold Rush of the 1850s. A group of pack mules carrying barrels of whiskey overturned while crossing a creek near the mining settlement.  The nearby mining camp eventually adopted the name Whiskeytown. Like many frontier towns of the Gold Rush era, the name reflected the rough and temporary nature of the mining communities that appeared almost overnight as prospectors flooded west in search of fortune.

Before the lake existed, this area was home to the original town of Whiskeytown, and other small mining communities tied to the Gold Rush. Miners, merchants, and settlers carved out of the rugged landscape, hoping to strike it rich in the surrounding hills. When the reservoir was created, much of the old town disappeared.

Whiskeytown became part of the National Park System in 1965 when Congress established the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. Beneath this lake lies the memory of an earlier California of mining camps, frontier settlements and the search for opportunity that helped shape the American West.