Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail

The Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail is a rail trail with its eastern/lower terminus in Susanville, and its western/upper terminus near the towns of Mason and Westwood.

Created from an abandoned line of the Fernley and Lassen Branch Line of the Southern Pacific Railroad, the gravel path now traces the former railroad grade as it parallels the Susan River up canyons and meadows, through scenic forest, gaining in elevation.

At about 25.9 miles in length from endpoint to endpoint, a former railroad stop turned campground called Goumaz lies about halfway along the trail length, and marks the 1000' foot in climbing elevation from the Susanville trailhead, and makes a great point for resting or breaking your ride or hike up at. For our ride, this was our turnaround point.

Beginning in Susanville, there are multiple trailheads that allow parking, though some of these areas - such as the Hobo Camp parking area - close to vehicles at dusk. The trail follows a consistent mellow uphill grade as it heads westward into the Susan River canyon at the base of the Sierra Nevada range. The trail surface is flattened travel or hard packed dirt, and generally stays fine for any wider bike tires to traverse. While paralleling the river, the trail is rarely in direct view of the river, and when it is, it's frequently from a slightly elevated perspective. The intersection of the Bizz Johnson Trail and the Hobo Camp trail has several small foot paths leading down to the water, and several bridges spanning the river also lie near short use paths leading down to the water.

About 4.5 miles along the trail, two railroad tunnels carve through the dense stone. While the trail remains almost entirely flat inside, it is obscured by the dark, so brining a light or taking one of the bypass trails around the stone formation are considerations. 

There is often some other foot and cycling traffic near the Susanville trailheads, however these other groups thin out the further you proceed on the trail, until you can go miles without running into anyone else.

After crossing Highway 36, trail use becomes more sparse, and views open wider to the mountainous and meadow-filled landscape. The trail continues its gradual incline, wrapping back up through some canyons and forest, until meeting a final straight section leading to the Goumaz Campground. Here, a shaded bench, tables, vault toilet and water spigot await. This area is slightly over the halfway mark of the length of the trail, and lies a hair short of 1000' in elevation gain from the trailhead.

From here, turnaround and enjoy the downhill for a change if you're riding back to Susanville.

Additional trail information, including local bus lines and shuttle routes if wanting to shuttle one direction of the trail can be found here.

There are sections with no cel signal along the ride, and weather and wind conditions can change rapidly with the change to landscape and elevation, so trail users should be prepared for this.