California’s Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail: August 2026 Trail of the Month
Trail Details
Northern California’s Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail is a 25.8-mile, unpaved route that runs between Susanville and Westwood in Lassen County following the former Fernley & Lassen Branch Line of the Southern Pacific Railroad.
A half century ago, when Stan Bales first laid eyes on the corridor that would become California’s immensely scenic and popular Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail, trees were growing up through the old railroad ties, and rocks had fallen onto the tracks of the abandoned Fernley & Lassen Railway. Brand new to the recreation coordinator position at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in 1976, Bales didn’t let the deteriorating condition of the old logging line deter him. In fact, he immediately saw its potential.
“I went out, walked the corridor and took photographs,” said Bales, who recently retired from the BLM in spring 2026 after 50 years at the Eagle Lake Field Office in Susanville, California. “I put a slideshow together of what it could be, and then I went to the community groups and said, ‘What do you think?’”
Bales’ enthusiasm for the project soon spread, gaining support from groups and entities like the local Audubon chapter, the Susanville city council and the Lassen County board of supervisors. The region’s longtime U.S. Congressman Harold “Bizz” Johnson, for whom the trail is now named, championed the project and worked to secure its federal funding. The railroad rights-of-way were then gradually acquired over the next decade.
Although much work still lay ahead—including redecking old railroad bridges and repairing tunnels—“Community support for the trail just kept growing,” said Bales.
An Outdoor Draw
On its eastern end, the Bizz Johnson Trail is anchored by Susanville, a small upstate California city in the Shasta-Cascade region, between the northern edge of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the high desert to the north. From there, it winds 25 miles west to Westwood, passing through some of the region’s most beautiful terrain.
Amy Holmen, the executive director of the Lassen Land & Trails Trust, a nonprofit that partners with the BLM to support the trail, walks the route nearly every day at lunchtime from her office in the historical Susanville Railroad Depot. She often encounters people who have traveled to Susanville just to experience the Bizz. “We get visitors from all over the world who say that’s why they’re stopping here,” she said. “Sometimes it’s people who are doing rail-trail tours; sometimes it’s just something that pops up when people are driving through.”
In its first 7 miles, the trail ambles along the Susan River, with the rushing flow of its water offering a pleasant soundtrack, and the soaring ponderosa and lodgepole pine trees providing a crisp, woody scent. The vivid greens and golds of leafy willows and cottonwoods mingle with the pines, complementing the aqua-blue of the river.
“In the summer, it’s great because there’s a nice down-canyon breeze and you can hop in the river and cool off,” said Holmen, who enjoys the trail’s ever-evolving tableau as the seasons change. “In the fall, the colors are turning, and in the spring the trees are getting their leaves.”
Bales said one of his favorite times on the trail is after a wintertime snow, when the trail becomes a picture-perfect venue for cross-country skiing.
“It’s one of Susanville’s biggest outdoor attractions and brings visitors to the area year-round,” said Samantha Whitt, executive director of the Susanville Chamber of Commerce. “Many visitors also support local hotels, restaurants and shops. We regularly receive questions about the trail conditions, the best times to visit and places to stay or eat nearby.”
During a one-year period ending September 2025, some 132,000 hikers, bikers, anglers and others visited the Bizz. And over the years, the Bizz Johnson Trail has earned numerous accolades, including being designated a National Recreation Trail in 1986 and being inducted into Rails to Trails Conservancy’s Hall of Fame in 2008.
“It’s something that is definitely really appreciated by the community, especially the fact that it starts right in the middle of town,” said Holmen.
‘What Being Able to Recreate is All About’
Adam Butler, who took on the BLM’s recreation coordinator position after Bales retired, grew up in Susanville and has lived there most of his life. He has long appreciated the charms of the Bizz. “The part I remember the most growing up was swimming at Hobo Camp,” Butler said of the riverside recreation area that surrounds one of the route’s main trailheads in the Susanville area. “When I got into high school in the ‘90s, it was a trail, and we used it a lot. You could hike up to the bridges in the summertime, and swim if you wanted to cool off.”
In his new role, Butler has continued to spend plenty of time on the trail and said he is still awed by what he sees. “In the Susan River Canyon when you get near the tunnels—I consider those my favorites,” he said. “When I’m able to take in the tunnel and the natural beauty of the mountains and the trees and the rock formations, and also the river—I think that’s what being able to recreate is all about.”
Indeed, local resident Dustin Osborn said it was the recreation appeal of the Bizz Johnson Trail that helped to attract him back to the area—and ultimately, to the house that has served as his family’s home for the past 25 years or so. “My family and I live here, right at the trailhead, and I have four kids,” said Osborn, who moved to Susanville as a child, went away for college and returned to raise his family. “Basically, that trail has been awesome for us as far as biking and running and hiking. It fit our lifestyle.”
Osborn said his three sons, who are all in their early 20s now, and his 14-year-old daughter use the trail on a regular basis. “Honestly, it’s probably daily,” he said of the family members’ visits to the Bizz, adding that they also like to fly fish along the trail for the river’s trout.
Another plus for the Osborn family and other trail users is a companion singletrack route, the South Side Trail, that was completed in 2021 and runs roughly parallel to the Bizz Johnson Trail from the Hobo Camp Trailhead for about 7 miles to the Devil’s Corral Trailhead. Butler and Osburn say that connection makes for a convenient loop that combines the flatness and relative smoothness of the Bizz’s hard-packed gravel surface with the more rugged natural roller-coaster ride of the South Side Trail.
Railroad Roots
Another key attraction of the trail is its connection to railroad history with two former train tunnels (450- and 850-feet long) burrowing through the canyon rock and a dozen river crossings over historical railroad bridges and trestles.
On the trail’s west end, Westwood, like Susanville, is an old logging town. The two towns were both on the Fernley & Lassen Railway line, which was a subsidiary of the larger Southern Pacific. The circa-1913 logging route ran from northwestern Nevada and through northeastern California to reach a large sawmill operation. Following years of slow decline, the branch was abandoned in the 1970s.
From the very beginning of the rail-trail’s development, Bales said he got solid support from his BLM managers. Even though BLM land was adjacent to less than 2 miles of the railroad right-of-way at the time, the federal agency still took the lead on the project to convert the corridor into a trail.
Their partnership with the Lassen Land & Trails Trust was also an essential ingredient to the trail’s success. Holmen noted that the catalyst for forming the nonprofit in 1987 was to save and restore the historical depot in Susanville, and since then, the land trust has branched into other projects as well, such as conservation easements, wildlife habitats and trails.
After renovating and preserving the 1927-era railroad depot (the original 1913 depot burned down in 1988), the trust has used the site, located at the Bizz Johnson Trail’s eastern trailhead, as its main office and headquarters. A volunteer-staffed visitor center is available on the site and, across the street from the depot, an old train caboose is occasionally available for tours as well. A 40-year anniversary celebration of the trust’s formation, coupled with a 100-year anniversary of the historical railroad depot, is currently in the early planning stages for 2027.
Overall, Holmen believes the Bizz Johnson Trail has more than lived up to the early aspirations of trail advocates. “I know that the purpose was to really take advantage of this resource and give access to a beautiful area and to public lands, and it’s certainly being used for that,” she said.
Bales continues to get out onto the trail frequently during his retirement and is always pleased to see the number of people of a variety of ages using the trail. “I was out there yesterday,” he said, adding, “It’s been a good ride and a good experience. I really enjoy meeting people who are out there enjoying it.”
Related Links
Trail Facts
Name: Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail
Used railroad corridor: The Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail follows the former Fernley & Lassen Branch Line of the Southern Pacific Railroad.
Trail website: Bureau of Land Management
Length: 25.8 miles
County: Lassen
Start point/end point: Susanville Railroad Depot on Richmond Road (Susanville) and Mason Station Trailhead (Westwood)
Surface type: Packed gravel, dirt
Grade: The trail has a mostly gentle grade of about 3%, although the elevation rises from 4,200 feet to 5,500 feet on the eastward route. Many cyclists choose to be shuttled to the western end near the Mason Station Trailhead, where they will climb 300 feet to Westwood Junction and then enjoy 1,355 feet of descent on the ride down through the Susan River Canyon to Susanville.
Uses: Walking, biking, mountain biking, horseback riding, fishing, cross-country skiing; wheelchair accessible
Difficulty: Easy
Getting there: The closest major airport is the Reno-Tahoe International Airport (2001 E. Plumb Lane, Reno, Nevada), about a 100-mile drive to the Bizz Johnson Trail trailhead in Susanville. The airport is served by 10 major commercial airlines. The Redding Regional Airport (6751 Woodrum Circle #200) is 108 miles to the west and is served by two major airlines.
Access and parking: From east to west, parking is available along the trail at:
- Richmond Road and Cypress St., Susanville
- Hobo Camp Day Use Area, Hobo Camp Road, Susanville
- Highway 36, 7 miles west of Susanville
- Mason Station Trailhead, 3.3 miles north of the junction of Lassen County Road A-21 and Highway 36, Westwood
Rentals: At this time, there are no bike rental options within close vicinity of the trail.
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