BLM offering fall colors bike ride and walk on Bizz Johnson Trail
Bus and bike shuttle services offered for a small fee
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SUSANVILLE, Calif. – The Bureau of Land Management invites mountain bike riders and hikers to come outdoors and enjoy the beautiful fall colors peaking on the Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail, when the Bureau of Land Management and Lassen Rural Bus offer a special shuttle service, Saturday, Oct. 22, between Susanville and Westwood.
Participants should call the BLM at 530-257-0456 to reserve shuttle space to the Mason Station Trailhead (3.5 miles north of Westwood) for themselves and for hauling bicycles on the trailer. There are separate $3 fees for the bus (paid to Lassen Rural Bus) and the bike shuttle (paid to the BLM), so one participant with one bicycle should expect to pay $6.00 total to use both services. Exact change is appreciated.
Riders and walkers should meet at 8 a.m. at the historic Susanville Railroad Depot, 601 Richmond Road. The bus and bike shuttle will depart at 8:30 a.m., and stop at the Devil’s Corral Trailhead, where participants can ride or walk seven miles back to Susanville.
The trail surface is gravel so wide tired bicycles are recommended. Hybrid and gravel grinder bikes are also used on the trail. Even children on wide tired single speed kids’ bikes have ridden the entire trail because it is mostly flat or downhill. The eastern seven miles from Devil’s Corral to Susanville is ideal for families with kids.
Additional trail options provided by the Lassen Rural Bus service:
Continue west over Fredonyer Pass - bike riders can depart and follow six miles of Forest Service Roads to Goumaz, mid point on the Bizz Johnson Trail, and then ride 12 miles downhill (18 miles total ride to Susanville).
Continue to Westwood and then 3.3 miles north to Mason Station Trailhead - enjoy riding the full length of the Bizz Johnson Trail; follow an old logging railroad through dry east side pine stands for 10 miles then follow the Susan River for 15 miles, crossing the river 11 times on 100+ year old railroad bridges and pass through two railroad tunnels (25 miles back to Susanville).
Another option is the South Side Trail. A very scenic single-track trail, it parallels the Bizz Johnson Trail in the lower (eastern) seven miles of the Susan River Canyon between the Devil’s Corral Trailhead and Susanville. This trail is popular with skilled mountain bike riders, hikers, runners and horseback riders. Connections between South Side Trail and the Bizz Johnson Trail are available on both ends of South Side Trail and at two places in between providing options for out and back loops of four, five, and eight miles.
Please see: Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail Map.
For more information and to reserve space on the bus and the bike shuttle’s trailer, contact the BLM Eagle Lake Field Office at 530-257-0456.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.