Why visit Yreka
Townapedia lists 4 museums and landmarks, 11 parks and trails, 21 places to eat, 11 places to stay and 1 attraction in and around town.
Highlights include Butcher Hill, Forest House and Yreka Carnegie Library.
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 93°F; December lows average 27°F.
Weather in Yreka
Forecast from the National Weather Service. Full forecast
About Yreka
Yreka is a city in and the county seat of Siskiyou County, California, United States, near the Shasta River and about 22 miles south of the state border with Oregon. The city has an area of about 10 square miles (26 km2), most of it land. As of the 2020 census, its population was 7,807, reflecting an increase from 7,765 in the 2010 census. Yreka is home to the College of the Siskiyous, Klamath National Forest Interpretive Museum, and the Siskiyou County Museum.
From the Wikipedia article Yreka, California (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Things to do1
Museums and landmarks4
Forest House
Monument and historic site · National Register of Historic Places · 4.5 mi
House in Siskiyou County, California
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Yreka Carnegie Library
Monument and historic site · National Register of Historic Places · 0.7 mi
Library in Yreka, California, United States
West Miner Street-Third Street Historic District
Monument and historic site · 0.6 mi
Parks, trails and playgrounds11
Restaurants and cafes21
Natalee Thai Cuisine
Restaurant · Thai · 0.5 mi
105 East Miner Street, Yreka
Mo-Sa 11:00-15:00,16:00-20:00
Victor's Restaurant
Restaurant · Spanish · 0.6 mi
311 West Miner Street, Yreka
Mo-Sa 11:00-14:00,16:00-20:00
Smoked Tomato Pie
Restaurant · Pizza, Barbecue, Sandwich · 1.2 mi
106 Ranch Lane, Yreka
Tu-Su 11:00-09:00
Lalo's Mexican Restaurant
Restaurant · Mexican · 0.6 mi
219 West Miner Street, Yreka
9 more on the map.
History
In March 1851, Abraham Thompson, a mule train packer, discovered gold near Rocky Gulch while traveling along the Siskiyou Trail from southern Oregon. By April 1851, 2,000 miners had arrived in "Thompson's Dry Diggings" to test their luck, and by June 1851, a gold rush "boomtown" of tents, shanties, and a few rough cabins had sprung up. Several name changes occurred until the city was called Yreka. The name comes from wáik'a, a word meaning "north mountain" or "white mountain", the name of nearby Mount Shasta in the Shasta language.
[Twain's mentor Bret] Harte had arrived in California in the [eighteen-]fifties, twenty-three or twenty-four years old, and had wandered up into the surface diggings of the camp at Yreka, a place which had acquired its mysterious name – when in its first days it much needed a name – through an accident. There was a bakeshop with a canvas sign which had not yet been put up but had been painted and stretched to dry in such a way that the word BAKERY, all but the B, showed through and was reversed. A stranger read it wrong end first, YREKA, and supposed that that was the name of the camp. The campers were satisfied with it and adopted it.
From the History section of Yreka, California on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where to stay11
Churches and places of worship15
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church
Church · Roman Catholic · 2.6 mi
1508 Hawkinsville Humbug Road, Hawkinsville
Shopping9
Gas and EV charging13
Schools, colleges and libraries20
Healthcare3
Map of Yreka
108 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Climate by month
Monthly table
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 46°F | 27°F | 3.3 in | 4.3 in |
| Feb | 52°F | 29°F | 2.2 in | 2.6 in |
| Mar | 58°F | 32°F | 1.8 in | 0.4 in |
| Apr | 64°F | 36°F | 1.3 in | 0.2 in |
| May | 74°F | 43°F | 1.3 in | 0.0 in |
| Jun | 83°F | 49°F | 0.7 in | 0.0 in |
| Jul | 93°F | 55°F | 0.5 in | 0.0 in |
| Aug | 92°F | 54°F | 0.3 in | 0.0 in |
| Sep | 84°F | 47°F | 0.4 in | 0.0 in |
| Oct | 70°F | 38°F | 1.1 in | 0.0 in |
| Nov | 54°F | 31°F | 2.2 in | 1.5 in |
| Dec | 45°F | 27°F | 3.7 in | 2.6 in |
U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 for Yreka Hcn (2 mi away), NOAA NCEI.
People and cost of living
American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020-2024, U.S. Census Bureau. Estimates have margins of error, larger for small towns.
Disaster history
Siskiyou County has had 16 federal disaster declarations since 2000, most often for fires.
- 2023-11-21: Tropical Storm Hilary (Hurricane)
- 2023-01-14: Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides (Flood)
- 2022-09-02: Mill Fire (Fire)
- 2021-06-29: Lava Fire (Fire)
- 2020-10-16: Wildfires (Fire)
- 2020-09-09: Slater Fire (Fire)
OpenFEMA disaster declarations summaries.
Getting there and nearby towns
Siskiyou County Airport (SIY) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 9 miles away.
- Montague 5 mi east, about 8 min by car
- Fort Jones 13 mi southwest, about 22 min by car
- Weed 25 mi southeast, about 40 min by car
- Mount Shasta 32 mi southeast, about 52 min by car
- Ashland 33 mi north, about 52 min by car
- Dunsmuir 39 mi southeast, about 1 h by car
- Medford 44 mi north, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Central Point 47 mi north, about 1 h 15 min by car
- White City 50 mi north, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Klamath Falls 56 mi northeast, about 1 h 30 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Local news
Headlines from INDB, the NEMICO news database.
Reviews, tips and questions
Loading what members have shared...
Sources and licences
- NCES EDGE (Public domain): public schools
- NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (Public domain): climate by month
- OpenFEMA (Public domain): disaster declarations
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- U.S. Census Bureau (Public domain): population, income, housing, education, commute
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Yreka, California in summer 2011 (3), Chmee2, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Yreka statue, Unknown author, Public domain
- Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Yreka California, Always dreamin, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Engraving 1 at Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Yreka California, Always dreamin, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Engraving 2 at Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Yreka California, Always dreamin, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Yreka, California in summer 2011 (2), Chmee2, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Yreka, California in summer 2011 (4), Chmee2, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Yreka, California in summer 2011 (3) (cropped), Chmee2, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Yreka, California in summer 2011 (1), Chmee2, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Yreka phlox (49305309828), USFWS Pacific Southwest Region, Public domain
- Yreka Carnegie Library 2012-09-25 08-38-56, RalphDailey, CC BY-SA 3.0
- CA Siskiyou County Forest House 0001, George Kramer, CC BY-SA 3.0
- 20100414.1 ALCO MRS-1, Sergey Yarmolyuk, Public domain
- 20100414.2 ALCO MRS-1, Sergey Yarmolyuk, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Falkenstein House, NoeHill, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Oak woodland before the CCC’s cut down encroaching conifers (49306013642), USFWS Pacific Southwest Region, Public domain
- Mt. Shasta - panoramio (2), On^ste82, CC BY 3.0
- ISS062-E-81136 - View of Oregon, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS054-E-13694 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS054-E-11238 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS040-E-29913 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS062-E-71018 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS062-E-81137 - View of Oregon, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS062-E-81138 - View of Oregon, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- Trucking on I-5 near Mount Shasta, Guywelch2000, CC0
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