The Journey to Vegan Food in Shasta, California

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Mount Shasta and Lake Siskiyou are two beautiful placevisits to in Northern California, tucked away in the woods and far from the city. You can catch views of Mount Shasta from the shores of Lake Siskiyou and at certain points on the seven-mile hike around the lake itself. The area surrounding these California treasures is a strange mix of people, half of which are probably vegan themselves. The other half have seemingly never heard the words “vegan” or “plant based,” so finding places to eat vegan was interesting, and at some points difficult, but have no fear, it was not impossible.

I’m not going to pretend that traveling with non-vegans is no different from traveling with only vegans. I’ve done both, and in Shasta, being the only vegan in my group meant a lot of garden salads, at least at some restaurants, which is perfectly fine. However, on the drive up, the stop at Split Pea Andersen’s didn’t disappoint: their pea soup is vegan! You can also get a side of veggies, but make sure to ask for them steamed, otherwise they cook them in butter. Throughout the trip though, I tried to be the easy-going one when it came to picking restaurants—I’m the type of person to feel guilty if my fellow travelers move their dining plans around based on my dietary restrictions. I also feel like it’s my veganic goal to show people that you can easily find at least something vegan to eat anywhere, which became the theme of the trip.

Since we were staying in a cabin, we did have the comfort of having a kitchen, so we stopped at a supermarket on the way to the resort called Rays Food Place. It had a very large selection of produce, organic and certified vegan bread, and one of the largest selections of kombucha I’ve ever seen. I was also able to get a wool-free yoga blanket for only $14, which was super exciting (and useful, since the cabin itself actually got really cold at night). Needless to say, I was satisfied with my grocery haul, and knew that even if I couldn’t find something super satisfying at a restaurant, I could always come back and cook something.

I did have some luck when we went into the town of Shasta a couple days into the trip. Many of the shops in the town are very spiritually driven, full of crystals, sage, and candles, so I felt like I would be able to find somewhere nearby to satisfy my craving for some good vegan travel food. In Shasta, there’s a health food store called Berryvale Grocery that carried tons of vegan products, specialty food items, and another huge selection of kombucha. The staff was very knowledgeable about other places I might be able to find vegan food in town.

One of these places in town that they mentioned was Yaks—a café a few blocks away from Berryvale Grocery. Not only did they tell me without hesitation that they could make any of their drinks vegan no problem, but they had a full separate vegan menu, which I was able to order lunch from. I got their teriyaki style bowl, which had rice, pinto beans, and a kale and veggies mix tossed in a teriyaki sauce, and it was so nice finally being able to eat out with everyone I was with.

Another good thing to take note of on a road trip is the existence of Subway. Although some of their bread isn’t vegan, you’re safe getting a wrap or a salad, and it’s a good place to stop with non-vegans and for everyone to be able to eat something substantial. There is one in Shasta, next to Rays Food Place, so it was very convenient and close to the cabin we were staying in. Just make sure you ask them to change their gloves before making your meal to avoid cross contamination!

Although you can absolutely find vegan food pretty much anywhere (even if it’s just a garden salad), it’s often more difficult to order food at a restaurant when you’re far away from the city because oftentimes there isn’t the comfort of a vegan label when you’re further away from areas where veganism is becoming mainstream (ie: Los Angeles, which is where my family lives). The thing is though, it is 100% possible to eat vegan for a week, even if you are further away from the city, you just have to know where to look.