Tehama County, California

Named for a local Native American tribe, Tehama County was established in 1856. A population of 56,039 resides in the 2,951 square miles. Tehama County lays approximately midway between Sacramento and the Oregon border. As a frequent traveler up and down the Interstate 5 corridor, I’ve transited through Tehama County dozens of times. Corning was a truck stop in the 1940’s. Today three travel centers bring in more than $500,000 in sales tax a year giving the city the highest sales tax revenue per capita in California. I rarely stop at the truck stop travel centers but enjoy the touristier Olive Pit with its olive tasting bar. Corning is known as “The Olive Capital of the World”. In 1897 mission olive trees were planted in the area, primarily for oil. As years passed more and different olives trees thrived and olive packing plants and mills opened. Home to the Corning Olive Festival in August and Bell Carter Olive Company (canner of Lindsay brand olives), Tehama County’s olives normally contribute about $12 million to the county’s fruit and nut industry, according to the county’s annual crop report. I’ve done my fair share of olive purchasing!

This visit to Corning I drove the additional one mile into the older downtown and visited the Corning Museum located at the Chamber of Commerce office. I enjoyed browsing through their treasure trove of artifacts and left weighted down with a bundle of brochures on area attractions.

Another less historical stop just south of Corning worth mentioning is the Rolling Hills Casino. I’m not a gambler and avoided the place for the first few years it was open until it was suggested as a good central place to meet. The noise and flashing of the slot machines are an irritation that you must pass through to a surprisingly good restaurant. Clean restrooms and free soda’s & coffee have helped to win me over. There are two hotels, truck & RV parking, and a traveler’s lounge. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t miss it, but should you find yourself there I suspect you’ll be as pleasantly surprised as I was.

The Sacramento River cuts through the central portion of the county and is one of the largest salmon spawning rivers in the world. We visited the Red Bluff Diversion Dam and would have loved to have counted salmon in the fish ladder and through the TV monitors at the Viewing Plaza. The dam was wide open letting the water and all fish travel unimpeded and sheltered from view downriver. Red Bluff is the county seat and has a charming downtown. I missed making a favorite stop at Heartfelt Designs Gallery. This store features alpaca products and classes in fiber arts and has some terrific unique items. Hmmm…maybe I need to swing by on my trip home?

Time dictated that we skip the Coleman National Fish Hatchery just north of Red Bluff. Thirteen - fifteen million Chinook salmon and about one million steelhead are reared here annually.

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With more than 300 miles of trails (including 17 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail) and Lassen Volcanic National Park only forty-five miles to the east, Tehama County offers multiple recreational opportunities. There were appealing looking campsites and 5 miles of trails near the Diversion Dam. One of my favorite camping trips in recent years was at Lassen NP and I loved the hike to the peak!

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The largest private employer in Tehama County is Wal-Mart. In addition to a retail store, a distribution center is located in Red Bluff. Tehama County’s unemployment rate is 11.5%, higher than the state of California at 9.3%. Perhaps they need more olives and truck stops!