Tourism & Recreation

With $60.7 million in travel-related spending in 2019, tourism ranks among the county's most significant economic drivers outside government and healthcare. That figure represents about 7% of the four-county district's $840.9 million total — modest in absolute terms but outsized for a county of 15,600 people. The 340 tourism-related jobs recorded in 2020 likely undercount the sector's true footprint, as that data reflects a year battered by both COVID shutdowns and lingering impacts from the 2018 Carr Fire, which burned over 200,000 acres across Shasta and Trinity Counties and drove legacy visitors away.

The county's competitive advantage is clear: Trinity and Lewiston Lakes, the Trinity Heritage Scenic Byway, and a unit of the Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area draw campers, boaters, kayakers, hunters, and anglers. Growing eco-tourism and cottage agriculture add diversification. But the infrastructure to convert visitors into higher spending — wayfinding, trail development, coordinated maps linking recreation to food and cultural attractions — remains underdeveloped.

The highest-priority regional recommendation is a collaborative tourism plan with a dedicated funding model. For a county this small, that plan is essential — the county lacks the budget to market independently at scale, but has the natural assets to punch well above its weight if regional coordination delivers more visitors and keeps them spending longer.