Those who get to know Tehama through its landscapes encounter different scales: the Tehama Wildlife Area covers about 44,500 acres of grassland, oak woodland and chaparral. Woodson Bridge State Recreation Area, by contrast, is a 324-acre oak woodland park on the Sacramento River. Together, they show how diverse the region’s nature experiences can be.
Wilderness and River Landscapes
The Tehama Wildlife Area serves as a winter range for mule deer. Wild pigs, turkeys, bald eagles, golden eagles, prairie falcons and peregrine falcons are also found there. When planning your trip, it is worth keeping this winter connection in mind, without assuming you will see any particular wildlife.
The Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge is a vast river landscape: it extends for 80 miles along the Sacramento River between Red Bluff and Princeton, encompassing areas in Tehama, Butte, Glenn and Colusa counties. Its 24 units open to the public offer opportunities for hunting, fishing, hiking, photography and wildlife viewing. This means the refuge brings together a range of nature and recreation interests within one large protected area.
The Sacramento River Bend Area also offers a variety of activities, including hiking, boating, camping, picnicking, hunting and wildlife viewing. Public boat ramps are available at Balls Ferry, Bend Bridge Park and Lake Red Bluff Recreation Area. At Woodson Bridge State Recreation Area, a campground and just over a mile of hiking trails add to the riverside nature experience. When planning your visit, take the park’s seasonal operating information into account.
For a different perspective on nature, look to Mineral in the wider region: the town is the southern gateway to Lassen Volcanic National Park. Its landscape includes steaming sulfur springs and boiling thermal pools. This scenery is markedly different from the river and oak landscapes found at the Tehama Wildlife Area and along the Sacramento River.
History to Discover at Its Sites
The William B. Ide Adobe State Historic Park centers on an adobe house dating to 1852. It is associated with a leader of the Bear Flag Revolt. The homestead’s buildings are accessible on guided tours during visitor center hours. If you would like to visit this historic site, you can plan your visit around the visitor center’s opening hours.
The Tehama County Museum also connects its collections with a historic site. It preserves and displays artifacts representing the cultural heritage of Tehama County. The museum is housed in an 1859 building called Masonic Lodge / School House, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Alongside the museum collection, visitors can experience a building whose own history is part of the visit.
Opened in September 2026, the Red Bluff Round-Up Museum & Historical Society Building is dedicated to preserving the history of the Red Bluff Round-Up for future generations. Alongside the history of a homestead and the county museum’s collection, it offers another cultural focus: the memory of the Round-Up.
Agriculture and Community Traditions
The Tehama District Fair showcases local agricultural products and has been held since 1921. In Corning, the Corning Olive Festival & Car Show is an annual community tradition. Both events offer insight into different facets of regional community life: the fair puts agricultural products in the spotlight, while the festival is a recurring fixture in Corning.
Another regional point of interest is Black Butte Lake, which is located in Orland and in California’s Glenn and Tehama counties. With protected areas, river landscapes, historic buildings and recurring events, Tehama offers a range of ways to explore the region. Depending on whether you are more interested in wildlife, history or regional traditions, you can give these discoveries different emphasis.
Discover more destinations: Red Bluff, Corning, San Luis Obispo, Siskiyou, San Mateo, Nevada, Santa Clara and Merced.
Go to the overview of destinations: California.
