biz johnson trail

I loved walking down the trail, seeing such beauty in the forest, the river was frozen over and the water rushing through below, unbelievable experience.

We were there to help with an annual running event and off and on this trail for a couple of days. It goes through some great scenery and is an easy hike. There is a shuttle available at the old Railroad Depot to take hikers and cyclists to the various trail heads.

We followed the advice from other reviews and road west to east. Recommend parking in Westwood close to Shell station (intersection of 38 and A21) if you are staying in Susanville (recommend - nice small Museum, beautiful murals around town, eat at The White House and Pioneer Lodge/Lassen Ale Works). You can then catch the Lassen Rural bus in the early evening to retrieve your vehicle. (Alternatively, you can take bus to Shell station - they have room for 2 bikes on front of bus and possibly more inside if they don't pick up wheelchair)The path officially starts about 3 miles from this intersection. We drove into Westwood to see Paul Bunyan. The surface is mostly fairly fine gravel and in some places sand but not deep, all very nice surface. The trees are beautiful, and landscape changes along the ways. The most spectacular portion is for the last 7 or so miles, riding right along the Susan river; two short tunnels and several tressels. There is one segment, crossing under the road where we did walk since pretty steep and rocky. We enjoyed the whole trail. There is a great place to lunch about halfway at Gaumez with picnic benches and porta-potty.We road the the 3rd week of October and the towards the end of changing of seasonal leaves. Side note - while in Susanville consider also riding at Ranch Park, a beautiful 27 acre park. Miles of unpaved trails, both fairly flat and mountain biking. We did a loop of Paul Bunyan to Canyon trail, about 6 miles.

Spend a half hour or an entire day. There's something for everyone along the Bizz. Biking, hiking, fishing, swimming, bird watching, even bear scat. It's all there and it's free. Fresh air, sunshine, no crowds (so don't go and ruin it for the rest of us). Just kidding...sort of.

Although this trail goes for over twenty miles, it is only a 20 minute walk to a path to a beach on the Susan River suitable for wading. The trail has been created over an old logging rail spur--it is level, broad, and only for foot and bicycle traffic.

walked with family on this trail. The Ranger at the beginning of it knew next to nothing about it so don't bother asking. We hit the portion around the hobo camp (you will have to interpret this for children) and then set out to find the RR trestle bridge. Several false attempts and then located the access road...I leave it to you to do the same and enjoy the adventure. Worth the hunt, it's been rebuilt and part of the hike.

We visit the trail often, nearly year round. Sometimes just the two of us, sometimes with visiting family or with grandchildren and their dog. The BLM maintained trail follows alongside the Susan River for about 25 miles. There are places to access the river, bridges, tunnels, beautiful scenery, bicycle riders, old and young walkers. Sometimes we walk for miles. Other times we might take a picnic lunch and sit by the river while the kids enjoy a swimming hole.A marathon is run on the trail every year, around October.

Fun or the whole family, my boys loved it. Exploring all sorts of plantlife, bugs, water holes, really fun, especially if you make it a picnic kind of day :-)

Beautiful trail great scenery have been there in the summer/ spring and just again last week there was still lots of snow and parts if the river were frozen over, have even seen children fishing from the rivers banks.

This converted rail trail is well worth taking time for exploration. The most scenic portion of the trail is from the Historic Susanville Train Depot (on Richmond Road, Susanville) to Goumaz Campground where it parallels the Susan River. Highlights are the two train tunnels, canyon sides and autumn colors. Buses from Susanville are available if you decide to traverse the entire trail or stop of at Devils Corral. The Bizz Johnson Marathon covers the trail on Columbas Day weekend. Stop in at the Historic Depot in Susanville for more detailed information.

The trail is gravel and it is best to bike with a mountain bike. For 20 miles it stays on a 3% grade, which gets tiring after a while. The last 10 miles are a 3% grade downhill, which is much easier. There is a bus which starts at Susanville and goes to the town of Chester, where the trail ends. You can take your bike and start at Chester, go up 10 grueling miles and then go down 20 downhill miles. Hard for children, great exercise, and it will probably take you 6 hours to do the whole thing.

One of the first rails to trails programs in the entire country, and still one of the best. Beautiful scenery along the Susan River Canyon, very light usage, and the 3% grade make this a trail that anyone can enjoy!

Awesome rails-to-trails. Smell the pines as you experience two cool tunnels, several bridges, the scenic Susan River, and beautiful mountains. We rode the approx 22 mile stretch from Westwood to Susanville, ending near the old train station. Except for one short, steep downhill and climb (walk it if you must), this is a great trail for families. Skinny tire bikes not recommended - gravel, dirt and some rocks much better suited for mountain bike tires and hybrids.

Bizz Johnson was an elected official for Susanville who used his power and the "Rails to Trails" movement to turn this abandoned stretch of railroad (between Susanville and Westwood) into a stellar recreational trail.The trail follows a small river for most of the way. Heading northwest towards Westwood, the elevation increases gradually and takes you into more densely forested areas, wildflowers, and amazing igneous (volcanic) rock formations.

best way to relax, very quite and clean trail , It has a susan river running parallel to it, we had a picnic lunch at Hobo Camp which was about 1 mile from the old station ,, we had a great time walking and bicycling there.