Dunsmuir Botanical Gardens

Dunsmuir Botanical Gardens is a 10 acre botanical garden maintained by Dunsmuir Botanical Gardens Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3)organization of volunteers within Dunsmuir City Park in the city of Dunsmuir, California near Mount Shasta. It requires public support to maintain the Gardens which are on City of Dunsmuir property under the general control of Siskiyou County via the Board of Directors of the Dunsmuir Park & Recreation District. Each summer, in its Tribute To the Trees annual concert, The Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra presents an outdoor dinner concert on the concert bowl lawns along the gorgeous upper Sacramento River. Tickets can be obtained for the program through the Chamber of Commerce and local merchants for this benefit for this gorgeous park. Member-donors from all over California, and from Oregon and Arizona, attend these concerts. Many important upgrades in the park scene in Dunsmuir are in progress in 2011. These include the building of handicapping trout fishing access on the river, and connecting the Hedge Creek Falls Trail with a new paved pathway and pedestrian bridge over the river at Mossbrae Falls-arguably the most beautiful waterfall in California outside of Yosemite. Arnold Schwarzenegger took Geo. W. Bush to see these falls. For now, the only access was a mile long walk along Union Pacific Railroad tracks. In the planning stage, a river viewing chamber structure, like the Taylor Creek stream viewing chamber at Lake Tahoe, is moving forward.

Trout fishing is allowed off season year around on a catch and release basis, but you can take home your catch beginning on the last Saturday in April. Up river, its all catch and release year around. River otters are often seen in this park, where the infamous chemical spill once sterilized this section of the river--but fortunately, the area upstream from the spill gradually restored much of the river's biosphere, and the fishery is very healthy, though crayfish and frogs have yet to reappear. Mink, cougar, bear, fisher and martin are sometimes in the immediate area. New York Yankees Babe Ruth and Bob Meusel played baseball in this park, but the old grandstand needs some funding for repairs.

The Botanical Garden's Horticulturist is Candace Miller, who is seeing to the accession catalog work and overseeing the park staff. Attorney David Hicks is the Board President for 2011-2012. The Park is dependent upon contributions and grants. The address for the park is PO Box 242, Dunsmuir California.

Events: The Gardens hosted many weddings, and several concerts and group picnics. This year saw the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra playing a program of Norwegian and British composers, and Finzi Bagatelles, at the Tribute To the Trees concert; Lydia Pense & Cold Blood, Earl Thomas & The Blues Ambassadors, and Sound Advice played the Mossbrae [falls] festival on July 23rd. Educational programs included the Elder Hostel's Road Scholars program for Grandparents and Grandchildren--this year featuring a dinner and a program on owls. Very large trout were planted in the park's river stretch by the City of Dunsmuir on July 16th.

See also

• List of Botanical Gardens in the United States

External links

• Dunsmuir Botanical Gardens

Coordinates: 41°08′N 122°10′W / 41.14°N 122.16°W / 41.14; -122.16