Some say that the isolated valley town of Weaverville , California , in far northern Trinity County , was Shangri-La . However , this is a misunderstanding of a comment by Hilton in a 1941 interview . Some say that the isolated valley town of Weaverville , California , in far northern Trinity County , was a source , but this is the result of a misinterpretation of a comment by Hilton in a 1941 interview , in which he said that Weaverville reminded him of Shangri-La .