Listen to audio versions of wayside exhibits outside the Visitor Center and at the Kennedy Memorial! For visitors that are visually impaired, or for visitors that simply like to learn by listening, seven wayside exhibits in the park have currently been converted into audio files. The first five audio files below describe the wayside exhibits located just outside the Visitor Center, while the last two audio files below describe the wayside exhibits located at the Kennedy Memorial.
In addition to the audio described wayside exhibits, visitors with visual impairments are invited to obtain a park brochure in braille from the Visitor Center. Finally, Whiskeytown's Facebook and Instagram pages include image descriptions to assist with screen reader software, and Whiskeytown's YouTube page includes audio captions.
Should you have any questions regarding accessibility at Whiskeytown or your visit to the park, please email Scott_Einberger@nps.gov.
Audio Description of Where's the Whiskey Wayside
An audio description and reading of the Where's the Whiskey, Where' the town wayside.
Description of Photo A black and white photo of a white stucco sided building with two gas pumps and a “Chevron Gasoline” sign next to the pumps. On the building are multiple signs including a large sign along the roof line saying “Whiskeytown”. A circular “Coca Cola” sign is on the left side of the building and a “Groceries” sign is over a window. On the left end of the building and under a shingled porch roof is a “Cocktails” neon sign. Captions The Whiskeytown General Store and Post Office, shown here, was a well-known business in the mid-1900s. During lake construction, it relocated to an area along Whiskey Creek Road. The general store remained a popular gathering place until it closed in the early 2000s. The buildings’ remnants burned to the ground during the 2018 Carr Fire. Where Exactly was Whiskeytown Located? The town of Whiskeytown was located where today’s Highway 299 travels across the lake. Nearby, Oak Bottom and Tower House were two other small communities. Where’s the Whiskey? Where’s the Town? California Gold Rush towns sometimes had colorful names. Such was the case with Whiskeytown, a small community born in the 1850s that succumbed to progress with the creation of Whiskeytown Lake over 100 years later. Standing from your current vantage point between the 1850s and 1950s, you would have seen this community about two miles distant. While no one really knows the origin of the Whiskeytown name, local folklore tells of an 1850s miner by the name of Billie Peterson who had a mishap. Hauling supplies to a mine, a pack on his mule’s back broke loose and Peterson’s supply of whiskey tumbled down a hill into the creek. From this christening came the name Whiskey Creek and Whiskey Town. Whiskeytown was a boomtown in the 1850s, but after most of the gold had been mined, the town grew quieter. Those that remained ranched, farmed, or served the few travelers passing through. Some continued to try their luck at mining. Before the lake was created in the early 1960s, the federal government purchased the town’s properties. Residents were given fair market value, but they were forced to relocate. The town’s historic cemetery was moved to its present location below the Clair A. Hill Whiskeytown Dam, while a couple other buildings were moved elsewhere. Today, although the town of Whiskeytown is no more, the colorful name remains.
A Balancing Act
Audio description of the "A Balancing Act" Wayside located at the Whiskeytown Visitor Center.
A Balancing Act Wayside Description The wayside is divided in half with a large photograph of a National park Ranger with his right hand raised, swearing in two children as Junior Rangers. The children have their right hands raised. They are standing in front of a stone bench with Whiskeytown Lake in the background. The other side of the wayside contains text that will be read in a moment as well as a map of Northern California and Southern Oregon. Six National Park sites are shown on the map. The following text accompanies the map. Explore Your Circle of Discovery After experiencing Whiskeytown, visit our national park neighbors shown on the map at left. At the national parks of Southern Oregon and Northern California, you can... Gaze skyward at the tallest trees on earth at Redwood; hike deep into marble at Oregon Caves; set your sights downward into North America’s deepest lake at Crater Lake; crawl through rocky passageways at Lava Beds; explore difficult history at Tule Lake; and climb to the top of the tallest plug-dome volcano in the world at Lassen Volcanic. The major text block reads as follows. The National Park Service preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world. - NPS Mission Statement It’s the eternal challenge of the U.S. National Park Service: allowing visitors to enjoy and recreate in the park on one hand, while protecting the park’s natural and cultural features on the other. How do we provide for both visitor use and resource protection? The answer to this complex question can be found in one word: balance. Here at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area and throughout the National Park System, we balance between the two and try to err on the side of future generations. How exactly do we balance use vs. protection at Whiskeytown? One example involves wildlife. There’s substantial opportunity to view wildlife and you can even hunt and fish in most areas of the park (use). However, to conserve wildlife, we do not disclose the specific locations of important habitat sites (protection).
A Matter of Degrees
Audio Description of the "A Matter of Degrees" wayside at the Visitor Center
A Matter of Degrees Audio Description Background photo of a salmon jumping out of turbulent water. An inset diagram showing the movement of cold water from the western end of the lake to the eastern end. The graphic highlights the water curtain and the Spring Creek Tunnel that are located below the Visitor Center. Text on the Wayside A Matter of Degrees The buoy line below you on the lake is not to keep boaters away from swimmers but to keep water away from water—warm water from cold water, that is. The buoy line is attached to a rubber curtain that drops 100 feet below the water surface. A smaller curtain anchored at the upper end of the lake forces the cold incoming water toward the lake bottom. Working together, these curtains trap the lake’s sun-warmed surface water, preventing it from mixing with the deeper, colder water. The cold water flows below the curtain as it exits, bound for the Sacramento River. Why all the fuss for cold water? To save Chinook salmon spawning grounds in the Sacramento River. Chinook eggs and fry require temperatures below 56 degrees to survive. The cold water discharged from the bottom of Whiskeytown Lake makes the difference. The Clair A. Hill Whiskeytown Dam is an important part of the Central Valley Project. However, the dam blocks fish migration and degrades stream ecology. How do we balance the need for dams with the need for aquatic species and habitat protection? One way is through the release of cold water. The cold water released from the bottom of Whiskeytown Lake is helping Chinook salmon
Of Reclamation and Recreation
Audio description of the wayside, "Of Reclimation and Recreation" at the Visitor Center
Of Reclamation and Recreation Wayside Description The background photograph shows two large, grey pipes running down a wooded hillside and ending in a cement building with water behind it. Across the pipes half way down the slope is a bridge. There are powerlines running left to right across the photo with a large tower supporting them. The following text is on the left side of the wayside. Every time we bet on the future of this country, we win. Every time we develop the water resources, [or] we set aside a recreation area, we can be sure they will be used.” U.S.President John Fitzgerald Kennedy spoke these words at the dedication of Whiskeytown Dam in 1963. The lake before you, and the dam one mile to the left of where you now stand, was constructed as part of the federal Bureau of Reclamation’s Central Valley Project. Whiskeytown Lake and the Clair A. Hill Whiskeytown Dam are part of an expansive system of dams, reservoirs, canals, tunnels, and hydroelectric powerplants created between the late 1930s and mid-1960s. The purpose of these features? To provide water, power, and flood control to California’s Central Valley, particularly farmers. At first, outdoor recreation was mostly an afterthought for the Central Valley Project. But with the nation’s economic boom after World War II, millions of citizens gained increasing amounts of leisure time. Outdoor activities such as camping, picnicking, boating, and hiking were sought out like never before. To support the country’s outdoor recreation wants and needs, and also to conserve land and water, the Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson administrations helped facilitate an unprecedented expansion to the National Park System. One of the dozens of new federal parks established in the 1960s? Whiskeytown National Recreation Area! Photo Inset On the right side of the wayside is an inset photograph. The photo is black and white showing four men walking. The following text accompanies the inset photo. James K. Carr Father of Whiskeytown National Recreation Area Walking aside President Kennedy in the photo above is Redding native James K. Carr. The politically connected Carr was a primary force behind the 1965 establishment of Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. A water and power engineer with an interest in conservation, Carr served as one of U.S. Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall’s righthand men in the early 1960s. The park’s James K. Carr Trail to Whiskeytown Falls honors his legacy. JFK Library Photo.
Solar Power for Parks and People
Audible description of the wayside, "Solar Power for Parks and People" at the Visitor Center
Wayside Description A photograph of a large solar array with the caption, “Close-up view of Whiskeytown National Recreation Area’s Grizzly Gulch Solar Farm.” There are two text blocks on the wayside. The top left block reads as follows. What do sunshine and water have in common at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area? Answer: both of these abundant natural resources get utilized to make renewable energy inside the park! Importantly, unlike coal, natural gas, and oil-fired power plants, solar power and hydropower create electricity without polluting our communal air and atmosphere.
Beginning with the Arab Oil Embargos of the 1970s, the federal government and specifically the National Park Service was mandated to serve as a role model in terms of energy conservation and clean energy. Whiskeytown National Recreation Area takes this mandate seriously. Solar panels power most of the streetlights in the park. Solar panels also power part of the Visitor Center (the building just to your right), the park’s wastewater treatment facilities and the maintenance building.
There is a green recycle logo next to the lower right text block. The text reads as follows.
Be Clean and Green in the Park! During your visit here at Whiskeytown, help us protect the environment... 1. If parked or at a construction stop, turn your vehicle off instead of idling the engine. This helps save you gasoline and also reduces carbon dioxide emissions. 2. Dispose of all litter in the brown, bear-proof trash cans and dispose of all aluminum cans and glass or plastic bottles in the recycling cans.
How else can you conserve energy whether in the park or at home?!
President Kennedy Dedicates Whiskeytown Dam
Audio description of the President Kennedy Dedicates Whiskeytown Wayside.
Description of Photo(s) Four images on a dark grey background. In the top right section is a photo of President John Kennedy standing at a podium with the Presidential Seal on it. Behind the President is seated two rows of dignitaries. Whiskeytown Lake with three sailboats is in the background.
The image on the lower right section is a photograph showing the large crowd in the foreground with a line of helicopters along the crest way of Whiskeytown Dam. Whiskeytown Lake is on the right side of the photo and the slope of the dam is on the left. In the background is a tree covered hillside and two mountains in the distance.
The caption under this photo reads, “Photos from President John F. Kennedy’s dedication of Whiskeytown Dam on September 28, 1963. Thousands of people turned out to hear the President speak.”
The bottom middle image is a color photograph of the Kennedy Memorial, a geometric art piece made up of rectangular shapes with bas-relief inserts of the dam construction and President Kennedy along with stylized elements of California history.
The caption under this photograph reads, “Located just to your right, the Kennedy Memorial was funded and spearheaded by local citizens after the President was assassinated. The bass relief panels were sculpted by local artist Roberto Ciabani. The panels represent Ciabani’s depiction of Kennedy’s legacy.”
The graphic in the lower left section is a map of California showing the Central Valley Project. Inserts show the Shasta/Trinity River Division and the Delta Division of the project.
Wayside Text President Kennedy Dedicates Whiskeytown On September 28, 1963, less than two months before his assassination in Dallas, President John F. Kennedy made his last official visit to California to dedicate Whiskeytown Dam. The dedication completed the Central Valley Project, a 500-mile-long water diversion system initiating a new era of growth in California. In this federally funded project, water from Northern California is diverted to the drier Central Valley, allowing one of the world’s most productive agricultural regions to thrive.
The dam dedication occurred at this exact spot, and during the ceremony, President Kennedy recognized great conservationists of the past and expressed the need to utilize our precious resources wisely for the future. He spoke of his pride in the Central Valley Project and praised the completion of Whiskeytown Dam. “Every time we bet on the future of this country, we win,” President Kennedy said. “Every time we develop the water resources, [or] we set aside recreation areas, we can be sure they will be used.” Excerpts of the President’s speech can be heard at the Kennedy Memorial, located to your right.
Description of Photo(s) There are three graphics on a blue background. The largest graphic is a black and white photo of the construction of the Whiskeytown Dam. To the lower right of the photo is the “Glory Hole” structure enclosed in scaffolding. There is vegetation in the foreground and forested hillsides in the background.
The caption on the photo reads, “Construction of Whiskeytown Dam and the Glory Hole (right side of photo) began in 1959 and finished in 1963.”
The second graphic is a color photograph of a creek. The creek flows around a rock island with trees growing on it. The banks of the creek are lined with low brush and trees. There is a steep hillside rising up in the background.
The caption for this photo reads, “Water for Fish; Water from Whiskeytown lake is released into Clear Creek through special outlets in the dam. These outlets blend the lake’s warmer water (57’F) with it’s colder, deeper water (47’F). This benefits the salmon and steelhead trout that use Clear Creek as their spawning ground. The third graphic is a diagram of the dam. It shows the Whiskeytown Dam in profile with the lake on the right side and Clear Creek on the left. The graphic shows the paths the lake water takes from the Upper Outlet located at 1110 ft. above sea level and the Lower Outlet at 965 ft. above sea level finally exiting into Clear Creek at an elevation of 950 ft. above sea level. The Glory Hole relief tunnel is also show with a lake level of 1210ft. above sea level. The Whiskeytown Dam has the following information shown. • Type: Earth and rock fill. • Height: 282ft. • Crest Length: 2250ft.
Wayside Text The Glory Hole
Whiskeytown Dam is protected from flooding by the circular structure located a short distance from shore. Named the Glory Hole because it resembles the trumpet-shaped morning glory flower, this structure allows overflow lake waters to drain. Water cresting the rim of the Glory Hole is funneled under the dam, emptying into Clear Creek below.
Caution! For your safety, do not go near the Glory Hole. The Glory Hole is a functional feature of Whiskeytown Dam and is not designed for recreational use. It is 260 feet deep and has no safety devices to prevent fatal falls.
John F. Kennedy Dedication Speech of Whiskeytown Dam
President Kennedy's speech dedicating the Whiskeytown Dam.
