Heart Lake, McCloud Falls, & Stand By Me Bridge

Days Two & Three - Crater Lake & Lassen Volcanic National Parks - 2025

After departing Crater Lake National Park, I make my way to a vantage point I’ve long desired to visit.

1. Jubilee Railroad Wilderness Lodge #1

Two railroad cars are seen outside the window of a third surrounded by pine trees at the Jubilee Railroad Wilderness Lodge, Dunsmuir, California, United States.

Opened in 1968, the Jubilee Railroad Wilderness Lodge lets visitors sleep in converted cabooses, as well as eat at their restaurant made from retired Pullman dining cars.

After checking out from Mazama Village Campground (at the last possible minute, mind you…), I made my way south across the Oregon-California border, stopping at the famed Mount Shasta Viewpoint along my route near the epically-named Cougar, California. I was disheartened to see that the upper third of the mountain was totally covered in clouds; I had planned a hike to Heart Lake -another viewpoint which beautifully frames Mount Shasta- right around sundown. Hopefully the weather would cooperate…. In between then and now, I had to check-in at my hotel, but first, I just had to try a burger at Yaks on the 5 - the hype is real, people!

I booked a special lodging for the evening: at the Jubilee Railroad Wilderness Lodge, 23 railroad cabooses have been converted into hotel rooms. What a cool spot!

2. Jubilee Railroad Wilderness Lodge #2

Multiple red and orange railroad cars are parked along a roadway at the Jubilee Railroad Wilderness Lodge, Dunsmuir, California, United States.

The layouts of the cars vary from one to four beds, and some even feature a cupola with seating where you can enjoy a morning cup of coffee.

3. Jubilee Railroad Wilderness Lodge #3

A red and yellow Santa Fe railroad caboose is seen in the foreground with tall pine trees and mountains in the background, Jubilee Railroad Wilderness Lodge, Dunsmuir, California, United States.

I had Caboose #28, a former Santa Fe car at the far end of the lodge property - I can certainly recommend this one as you get a great view of the nearby mountains.

4. Castle Lake Viewpoint

The blue waters of Castle Lake are seen in the foreground, with Mount Shasta in the background, separated by end-to-end groves of pine trees, Shasta-Trinity National Forest, California, United States.

Located within Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Castle Lake forms part of the headwaters of the Sacramento River, California’s longest river.

After check-in, I made my way to Castle Lake in Shasta-Trinity National Forest to begin my hike up towards Heart Lake. This hike had been on my to-do list for a very, very long time after I saw a photo of the gigantic mountain reflected in a small pond.

And wouldn’t you know it - the skies cleared up!

5. Heart Lake #1

Mount Shasta is reflected in a small lake, Shasta-Trinity National Forest, California, United States.

At 14,179 feet / 4,322 meters, Mount Shasta is the world’s 96th most prominent mountain, and the second most prominent in the Lower 48 United States.

The hike up to Heart Lake from Castle Lake is an easy 3 mile / 4.83 kilometer round-trip saunter, although you can opt to add on a spur trail which takes you to a viewpoint over Castle Lake (worth the effort if you are shore-footed). But that beautiful, beautiful reflection photograph is what I was after!

Reaching the perfect vantage point is a little bit tricky and requires walking gingerly around the muddy outer edge of the lake and a climb over a small boulder. But once you’re there, you realize the effort is 100% worth it! Hopefully you agree.

6. Heart Lake #2

Mount Shasta is reflected in a small lake, Heart Lake, with a duck's silhouette visible, Shasta-Trinity National Forest, California, United States.

Mount Shasta is one of the so-called “High Cascades,” the tallest volcanic peaks of the Cascade Range.

There was a little duck in the pond who very gingerly floated right into the perfect spot.

7. Heart Lake #3

Far from a dormant volcano, Mount Shasta erupts about every 600 years …

I could have spent all day at this spot …

8. Heart Lake #4

… And -despite no current signs of ground deformation associated with imminent volcanic activity- the United States Geological Survey rates Shasta as a “very high-threat volcano.”

… But I didn’t really want to make my way down the mountain in the dark by myself as mountain lions are not uncommon in this area and there are plenty of excellent ambush cliffs along the way. Next time I come through this part of the country, I will definitely stick around a bit longer and bring a noisemaker. At any rate, I was incredibly pleased with the whole afternoon!

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9. Lower McCloud Falls

The McCloud River falls over a small cliff of dark-colored rock, California, United States.

As the McCloud River scythes its way across the basalt rock near Mount Shasta, it travels down three waterfalls.

Following the Heart Lake hike, I made my way back to Jubilee Railroad, enjoyed a lovely dinner in the Pullman dining car, and headed into my warm, cozy caboose room and called it a night (remember, I had been up since just after midnight at this point.)

I had planned on heading to Lake Siskiyou for sunrise, but when my alarm went off at 4AM I said, “Nah,” and went back to bed. Best. Decision. Ever. I truly was exhausted at this point and had a long trip still ahead of me. Again, I have no doubt I’ll be back to Shasta-Trinity National Forest one day.

My objective for the day was to climb Cinder Cone, a volcanic hill in Lassen Volcanic National Park. Cinder Cone’s trailhead is located in a far-off corner of the park not connected by road to the rest. My route to Cinder Cone passed by McCloud Falls, which is actually plural since there are three waterfalls here: Lower, Middle, and Upper.

10. Middle McCloud Falls

The travel time between the falls is pretty short by car, but if you want to spend more time here you can hike a 4-mile / 6.44 kilometer round-trip trail between the three.

11. Another View of Mount Shasta

The peak of Mount Shasta is seen in the background with tall pine trees in the foreground, California, United States.

Due to Mount Shasta’s prominence, it is often covered by lenticular clouds which obscure its peak.

The falls are right underneath Mount Shasta, and -if the weather is clear- you can get an epic view!

12. Upper McCloud Falls

Before heading to Cinder Cone, there was one other spot I just had to check out!

13. Stand By Me Bridge #1

A white railroad trestle - commonly referred to as the Stand By Me Bridge - spans a green-colored river, California, United States.

You are probably familiar with the “Stand By Me” train scene and bridge (even if you’ve never seen the film) so let me share with you something you probably didn’t know: according to a first-hand account by a man named Martin (who ran the locomotive seen in the film) child actors were prohibited from doing stunt scenes in the movie in reaction to the “Twilight Zone” helicopter accident in 1982; as such, the children seen running across the bridge in the wide shots are female little people dressed as the four main characters.

Nowadays, the so-called Stand By Me Bridge is abandoned, its tracks having been removed in 2005. It is intended to be part of the Great Shasta Rail Trail; however, the bridge will require significant repairs before it is safe to walk across again.