About

spring 2025 project update

Through the winter the project team has been working on several supporting elements of the South Siskiyou Sustainable Recreation Planning activity. SORA has been hosting meetings with focus groups while also working with Alta Planning + Design on documents that capture additional information about the state of recreation in South Siskiyou County and selected priorities and concerns, which are shared below. We are working with the Recreation Committee to create a Project Scoring template for prioritizing projects and preparing for the next round of public meetings.

Outdoor Recreation Economy in South Siskiyou County February 2025 draft document

fall 2024 project update

The South Siskiyou Sustainable Recreation Planning activity is well underway and we have progress documents to share, which are linked below. Thank you to everyone who joined our public workshops in May 2024 and took the online survey for our Sustainable Recreation Plan in May and June! We wrapped up Phase 1 of the planning process this summer. Between interviews, community workshops, and committee meetings, we chatted with about 400 of you in-person. Additionally, we got feedback from 163 of you through our online survey. Your input informed our vision for community recreation, project focus areas, and will be a crucial part of developing a list of priority projects to include in the plan.

Another round of workshops and a survey to review the draft projects and these documents are planned for this winter! At that time, community members will have the opportunity to share their input on the drafts below of the State of Recreation Needs Assessment and the Community Engagement Summary.

To learn more about the project, scroll down to read about how it got started.

Community Engagement Summary September 2024 draft document

State of Recreation Needs Assessment September 2024 draft document

It all started with…

Siskiyou Outdoor Recreation Alliance (SORA) is the recipient of a Sierra Nevada Conservancy Recreation & Tourism grant to fund the South Siskiyou Sustainable Recreation & Trails Partnership, a sustainable outdoor recreation planning project. The project is one of several grants awarded by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) governing board in 2022. Funding for the project is restricted to South Siskiyou County.

SORA is working with Alta Planning + Design, Inc. to execute the project and develop a sustainable outdoor recreation plan for South Siskiyou County. The project will convene a broad coalition of people and organizations interested in sustainable recreation development to meet the existing and growing recreational needs of South Siskiyou County. We’re planning to convene cities, agencies, community groups, and the broader community to build stronger partnerships and prepare priority recreation projects for future funding. The project will also focus on exploring the viability of developing multi-use trails to connect the communities of Mt. Shasta, Dunsmuir, Weed, and McCloud. We anticipate the project will run through the summer of 2025.

Shape the future of recreation in our community…

Here in the shadow of Mount Shasta, we love to play outside. Between the mountains, rivers, and lakes we have an abundance of natural places to explore, enjoy, and steward. Preserving our natural recreation areas requires collaboration, planning, and intention. We are gearing up for a new chapter of recreation planning this spring. Our recreation coalition is thinking about everything from trail stewardship and seasonal roadway access to building climate resiliency to establishing more ways to connect communities to each other.

We need your big ideas for the future of recreation in our backyard! Will you join us?

Read on for more opportunities to get involved in this exciting new project – The South Siskiyou County Sustainable Recreation Plan. We are excited to announce that we will be working on a community process to develop a Sustainable Recreation Plan! This Plan will inform future improvements to recreation and trails in South Siskiyou County including Mt. Shasta, McCloud, Dunsmuir, and Weed. There will be many ways to get involved through community workshops, surveys, and more in the coming year.

What is the South Siskiyou Sustainable Recreation Plan?

We imagine a future where recreation opportunities are more connected, accessible, exciting, and easy to navigate. To get there, we all need to work together. If you live, work, own a business, or visit South Siskiyou County, this plan is for you! We want to know:

What gets you excited about being outside?
What is important to you about recreating outside?
What are your concerns related to outdoor recreation?
What prevents you from getting outside?
What trails, trailheads, rivers, lakes etc do you use and why?
What local recreation projects are you excited about?
What would encourage you to engage in outdoor recreation more?
What is your vision for the future of outdoor recreation in South Siskiyou County?

All of this and more will be analyzed and used to move the region toward new and improved regional recreation opportunities that meet the needs of our community. This Plan will establish a shared regional vision and goals for recreation, as well as identify specific priority projects and programs, such as trails connecting our communities, more accessible trailheads, motorized recreation areas, coordination for long-term maintenance, and more. Projects listed in the Plan will be more competitive for regional, state, and federal grant funding.

When is this process happening?

Is this relevant to me?

If you live, work, and/or play in Mt. Shasta, McCloud, Dunsmuir, or Weed, this is relevant to you! Whether you like to ski, boat, snowshoe, ride motorcycles, snowmobile, bike, or walk; whether or not you currently recreate in South Siskiyou County, we want to hear from you. This process is all about bringing community together to talk about values and priorities related to recreation. You may already have big, bold ideas or you may just want to learn more or connect with your neighbors. Regardless, we hope you consider attending some of our events throughout 2024 and 2025 to be a part of this community-involved process.

How can I get involved?

There will be many opportunities to get involved:

Community workshops: These events will offer a semi-structured format, including facilitated discussions and feedback sessions about recreation and trails, and opportunities for mingling with neighbors. Our first round of workshops were incredible! Check back here this fall, follow us on social media, and sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on upcoming workshops.

Virtual open house and survey: this will be available both before and after the community workshop to weigh in on specific challenges and opportunities around recreation and trails in the area.

Mobile outreach at community events: stop by our table!
Sign up with SORA to receive email updates
Take the survey and be entered to win one of the following prizes!
- One $25 Gift Card to Pipeline Craft Taps
- One Mt. Shasta Nordic Center 2024/2025 Season Pass!
- One Free Entry to the Mount Shasta 4th of July Run/Walk (any category)

Questions or Feedback?

If you have additional questions about this project, please contact Justi Hansen at justi@siskiyououtdooralliance.org