Lake Shasta & Sacramento River (Eagles & Salmon)
Redding / Lakehead · near Redding · Shasta Cascade
Wildlife Watching
At a glance
- Best season
- Fall for spawning Chinook salmon; winter for bald eagles; ospreys nest spring-summer
- Open year round
- Yes
What is here
- Wildlife
- birds
- Species
- Bald eagles, ospreys, fall-run Chinook salmon
- Amenities
- Redding riverside trails & Sundial Bridge · Boat/pontoon on Lake Shasta · Roadside lake overlooks
- Best for
- Easy, town-adjacent eagles, ospreys and a fall salmon run
- Features
- Fall Chinook run at the Sundial Bridge · Wintering bald eagles on Lake Shasta · Nesting ospreys in summer · Easy urban-adjacent access
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- River trails busy near town · Lake recreation areas may charge day-use fees · Modest eagle numbers vs Klamath
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Wildlife Watching detail
- Viewing
- trail
- Effort
- easy
- Habitat
- wetland
- Sighting
- 3
- Viewing notes
- Wintering and resident bald eagles and ospreys around Lake Shasta, plus the fall Chinook salmon run on the upper Sacramento River viewable right from Redding's riverside trails
- Intl tip
- Walk the Sacramento River Trail by the Sundial Bridge in late fall to see spawning Chinook salmon, then watch for eagles and ospreys working the river. It's easy and urban-adjacent - a good add-on to a Shasta trip rather than a special-trip destination.
The guide
Around Redding, the upper Sacramento River and Lake Shasta offer easy, town-adjacent wildlife viewing: wintering and resident b…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Lake Shasta & Sacramento River (Eagles & Salmon) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 40.65, -122.3