Active NorCal Featured in National Geographic Article on Northern California Waterfalls

Active NorCal Founder Zach O’Brien was recently featured in a National Geographic article on waterfalls in Northern California’s Shasta Cascade. You can find the article here.

The article, written by Miles Howard, dives deep on a series of waterfalls just outside Redding, California such as Burney Falls, McCloud Falls and Hedge Creek Falls. Highlighting the 42 accessible waterfalls in the area, the article says Redding is a “reliable home base for exploring waterfalls” in Northern California. Then, it goes on to explain the lore of the areas many great waterfalls.

“How Shasta Cascade became the Golden State’s waterfall mecca is a story written in the clouds and carved through the mountainous landscape,” writes Howard in the article.

The opening paragraph describes the sheer force of Burney Falls, including a quote from Active NorCal Founder Zach O’Brien.

“If you’re there after a storm, you can’t even get close to [the falls],” O’Brien is quoted in the article. “The spray leaves you soaking wet, even on a sunny day.”

Diving deep into the origins of NorCal’s waterfalls, the article includes the volcanic history of Lassen Volcanic National Park, before imagining their futures in the midst of declining snowpack and climate change. It also goes on the mention the areas devastating wildfires, including Redding’s Carr Fire in 2018.

Towards the end, Howard inspires waterfall chasers with the “ultimate waterfall-listed loop (which links to our 13 Waterfalls in a Weekend article) beginning in Redding and visiting the areas most prominent falls. Once again, O’Brien is quoted about the legend of Black Bart and Hedge Creek Falls.

“There’s actually a legend that Black Bart, who was the famed stagecoach robber of California during the 1800s, used to rob coaches and [then] spend the night in the cave under Hedge Creek Falls with all his loot,” quotes O’Brien in the article.

The article was aided with the assistance of Visit Redding, which helped Howard in his trip to the area’s waterfalls. Their guidance with national and local media outlets continues to be a crucial part of Redding’s growing tourism industry.

National Geographic is a massive media conglomerate whose print and digital content reaches millions of people around the world in 172 countries and 43 languages every month.