Welcome to Dunsmuir sign hanging off a post, in front of tree

About Dunsmuir

Welcome to our beautiful little town on the Sacramento River! We host wonderful fishing spots, beautiful hiking / walking trails, excellent and well-known restaurants, and lovely lodging and vacation rentals.

Our historic downtown is a nationally designated historic district, carefully preserved for all ages to enjoy. We are fortunate to have a train depot, where Amtrak picks up and delivers passengers.

North Dunsmuir hosts the beautiful Botanical Gardens City Park on the river. Many weddings anniversaries, concerts, and special events occur here. Next to the City Park is our ballpark where the famous Babe Ruth once played. And south of the ballpark is our Olympic-sized pool, available to all.

Local swimming holes also abound and are easily accessed. Dunsmuir is home to Hedge Creek Falls and the famous Mossbrae Falls. Castle Crags State Park is only three exits to the south.

Make Dunsmuir your destination for fun, entertainment, romance, and relaxation. Enjoy our beautiful scenery and pace of life.

Dunsmuir

  • By the Numbers.

    Zipcode: 96025
    Area Code: 530
    Population as of 2020:
    1,707
    Median Household Income in 2020: $39,737
    Employment Rate: 54.3 %
    Total Housing Units: 1,091
    Median house or condo value in 2019: $192,277
    Median gross rent in 2019: $984.

    Mean prices in 2019:
    -all housing units: $329,158
    -detached houses: $356,634
    -townhouses or other attached units: $335,735
    -mobile homes: $139,857
    -occupied boats, rvs, vans, etc.: $341,071

    Data Source: Census.gov & http://www.city-data.com/city/Dunsmuir-California.html

  • Government.

    U.S. House of Representatives
    District 2
    (530) 223-5898 — (202) 225-3076

    California State Senate
    District 1
    (916) 651-4001

    California State Assembly
    District 1
    (530) 223-6300

    Siskiyou County

    City of Dunsmuir Officials
    (530) 235-4822

    Siskiyou Office of Education

  • Distance From.

    Sacramento, CA – 212 Mi - South

    Redding, CA – 51.8 Mi - South

    Portland, OR - 368 Mi - North

    Medford, OR – 95.5 Mil -North

    Ashland, OR – 83.4 Mi - North

    Yreka, CA – 45.5 Mi - North

    Mt Shasta, CA – 2.6 Mi - North

    McCloud, CA – 16.2 Mi - North East

  • Real Estate.

    City of Dunsmuir
    There are approximately 110 acres of land that are included in the City of Dunsmuir. This includes the 6 mile length of the town. There are numerous commercial areas, especially within the downtown Historic District. There are also multiple-rental units and vacation properties.

    Housing Resources
    Siskiyou County Board of Realtors, Inc — (530) 926-5083
    Habitat for Humanity — (530) 938-2595
    Great Northern Corporation (housing assistance) — (530) 938-4115

Quality of Life


At the top of the State of California you will find a small, friendly quaint mountain community that time passed by. Dunsmuir is nestled between tree covered mountain ridges, with a world-class trout stream running right through town.

Dunsmuir water comes straight from snow melt filtered through lava rock on the slopes of Mt. Shasta. It never sees daylight until you turn the tap on. Cold, clean, pure refreshing water is why we call Dunsmuir “The Home Of The Best Water On Earth.℠” No filters or treatments are needed, and the taste is wonderful.

The population in Dunsmuir is less than 2000. Our excellent elementary and high school have no overcrowding issues, and students receive quality class time.

Dunsmuir is a relaxed, slow-paced town with no traffic lights, no lines at the grocery store or post office–but lots of first-class restaurants.

With each season comes new activities and events throughout Siskiyou County: Fishing, hunting, railroading, swimming, hiking, skiing, canoeing, kayaking, snowboarding, mountain climbing and spelunking, to name a few. There are also community activities and events throughout the year, including theater productions at the College of the Siskiyous (17 miles north), art walks, the big Railroad Days celebration in June, River and Rail Brewfest in August and many other cultural events.

Lakes, waterfalls, rivers, streams and gorgeous mountain scenery add to the quality of life in Dunsmuir. City life, just in case you miss it, is just 45 minutes away — in Redding.

Dunsmuir offers so much for everyone–fresh, clean air and water and a beautiful natural environment, for starters.

Come home to Dunsmuir and discover the magic of this classic alpine village and historic town.

For Businesses


The Dunsmuir Chamber of Commerce, founded in 1949 unites local businesses with a common goal: increased revenues of our member businesses.

The City of Dunsmuir located next to I-5 and a railroad depot makes transportation easy. Dunsmuir and the surrounding local area has a broad mixture of commercial and industrial opportunities. Dunsmuir lends itself well to home-based, cottage and storefront businesses. Business licenses may be obtained at Dunsmuir City Hall.

The population of Dunsmuir is just below 2000 and just about 45,000 for all of Siskiyou County. Dunsmuir’s taxable sales run over 12 million per year, with approximately 45 million in South Siskiyou County.

Several agencies are locally available to assist new and/or relocating businesses.

RESOURCES

City of Dunsmuir
(530) 235-4822 ext 103
admin@ci.dunsmuir.ca.us 

Siskiyou County Clerk’s Office
510 N. Main Street, Yreka, CA 96097
(530)842-8084

State of California Employment Development Department
(800)300-5616

Siskiyou Training & Employment (STEP)
310 Boles St.
Weed, CA 96094
(530)938-3231
Employee programs, employer HR assist.

 Personnel Preference
150 Boles St.
Weed, CA 96094
(530)938-3939
Employment agency.

College of the Siskiyous
800 College Ave.
Weed, CA 96094
(530)938-4461
Training, special courses.

Amtrak
(800)231-2222
Dunsmuir-only stop in Siskiyou County.

Union Pacific
(888)870-8777
Freight transportation.

Mott Airport
530-235-4822
2900 ft. runway, tie-downs, hangers. Small planes.

Jefferson Economic Development Institute (JEDI)
403 Berry St.
Mt. Shasta, CA 96067
530-926-6670
Business plans, programs.

Siskiyou County Economic Development Council
1512 Oregon St.
Yreka, CA 96097
530-842-1638
Business innovation center.

Great Northern Corporation
708 S. Davis St.
Weed, CA 96094
530-938-4115
Business grants, loans.

Cascade Small Business Development Center
530-226-2770

Center for Economic Development
530-898-4598

Superior Calif. Economic Development

530-235-2760 

Local County Transportation — S.T.A.G.E

1-800-247-8243
Bus service

History


The hills and curves of our streets still reflect the footpaths of the native peoples who were here for countless years. The Siskiyou Trail that ran from California to Oregon followed those paths. Alexander McLeod, a Hudson’s Bay trapper from Vancouver, explored here as early as 1828. Other trappers, prospectors, surveyors, gold seekers and early teamsters hauling freight wagons followed him. It’s hard to imagine that Ewing Young drove a herd of cattle right through this rugged canyon on the way to settlements in Oregon in 1837–even before the government sent scientists and map-makers to the area in 1841.

The Union Pacific railyard–formerly the Southern Pacific railyard—runs alongside one of our main streets, Sacramento Avenue. On the other side of the railyard is the Sacramento River. The Central Pacific Railroad called this spot “Pusher” because this is where they added extra “pusher” locomotives to trains going north over the Siskiyou range. They built the roundhouse, turntable, depot, machine shops and railyard here in the late 1880s.

postcard for the Traveler's Hotel

Sacramento Avenue “ previously called “Front Street” – sometime after the 1903 fire. The fountain which was donated to the town by Alexander Dunsmuir is in the lower center and there is a passenger train at the depot.

The business buildings along Sacramento Avenue were built after a big fire swept through here in 1903. It’s amazing how the town rose from the ashes and restored all the services needed by the railroad so quickly. Dunsmuir was designated as the headquarters for the railroad’s Shasta Division back in 1916. The Shasta Division was famous for being the smallest but most rugged of any on the Southern Pacific system.

We were incorporated as a California city in 1909, when the town was already thriving. Our newspaper started publishing in 1890, our first bank opened up in 1904, our elementary school opened its doors in 1887, our Masonic lodge was founded in 1889, our volunteer fire company was organized in 1897, and our first electrical plant started operating in 1891–powered by the waters of the Sacramento River.

Our other major arterial is Dunsmuir Avenue, running parallel to Sacramento Avenue and just up the hill from it. Dunsmuir Avenue used to be called Back Street–the other side of Front Street–and was lined with homes of the railroad workers and business people. Then about 1912, when automobiles started to come through, it became Highway 99 and started being called Florence Avenue. Another fire in 1924 took most of the homes. It was a devastating blow to the town. But it rose out of the ashes again. And when it did, because of the busy highway, the new structures were business buildings instead of homes. That’s why buildings on this street reflect the 1920s style of architecture that’s so different from the ones on Sacramento Avenue: Two different eras, two very different styles of architecture.

Now, most of the auto traffic runs past Dunsmuir on a super highway, and we get to keep our leisurely pace and quiet lifestyle. We still have the railroad sounds, though.

Hotel Weed in Dunsmuir CA

Dunsmuir Avenue – formerly Florence Avenue, Highway 99, and “Back Street” in about 1925. Today the cars are different but the buildings are much the same.

It’s great how the railroad has promoted tourism to our area. It started publicizing railroad excursions to the famous resorts in our area back in the 1880s, and in the 1920s ran special trains to bring visitors from far and wide. They came for our wonderful climate, superb fishing, scenic beauty, and the healing waters at well-known resorts such as Shasta Springs and Shasta Retreat.

Among the tourists were some famous visitors–presidents and actors and sports heroes. Clark Gable was here, and Errol Flynn, and Claudette Colbert. In 1924 Babe Ruth played an exhibition game at our ballpark, which is still there on the main street in the north part of town, near the entrance to our riverfront park.

The fountain at the park’s entrance was a gift from a British Columbia coal baron, Alexander Dunsmuir, back in 1888. He donated the fountain on condition that the town be named for him and his family.

Dunsmuir is a town that looks forward while cherishing its rich history, a town where high-tech startups mingle on the main streets with more traditional shops and restaurants, a town where echoes of the early 20th century mingle with the sounds of the railroad that launched this community over a hundred years ago.

Dunsmuir Depot with train and old town.