Code of the West...Realities of Rural Living in Siskiyou County

Happy Camp/Klamath River Happy Camp is a small, friendly, rural, mountain community on Highway 96 midway between I-5 and the Pacific Coast. This rustic community on the “Wild and Scenic” Klamath River is in northwest Siskiyou County approximately 20 miles south of the Oregon border. Happy Camp is surrounded by the Red Buttes, the Siskiyou and the Marble Mountain Wilderness areas.

Happy Camp is located in the center of the ancestral territory of the Karuk Tribe, which has resided along this part of the Klamath River since time immemorial. Karuk people are recognized throughout the world for the quality of their basketry, and their traditional culture continues to be an important part of everyday life. 3

The Happy Camp/Klamath River/Hamburg/Seiad Valley Area is an important part of early California gold mining history. In the early 1900's more than 5,000 people were in and around the village of Hamburg trying to “scratch out” a living at hundreds of placer mines. By the 1860s most of the mines were “worked out” and the few hardy souls that remained worked in logging or ranching. Small stores survived in the area as supply centers for remote ranches and logging camps.

 The Klamath River area is renowned as a bird watcher’s paradise with scores of birds able to be seen in a remote, scenic habitat. This area is great for the outdoor enthusiast who wants to “get away from it all” and is one of the best locations for fishing, hunting, golfing, wilderness horse packing, rafting, kayaking, boating, hiking, camping, recreational gold mining, rock hounding and mountain biking.

This post is taken from The Code of the West...Realities of Living in Siskiyou County: A primer for living in Siskiyou County, California by the Office of County Administrator 2005