Bizz Johnson Trail Weather & Planning Guide

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Bizz Johnson Trail, Lassen County, CA, 25.32 miles

Trail Facts

Hall of Fame

Inducted 2008 by Rails to Trails Conservancy

Length 25 mi

Elevation 4229 to 5566 ft

Grade 1.0% average

Shade cover 32%

Primary surface Crushed gravel

Secondary surface Dirt

Activities

E-bikingBikingWalkingRunningHikingBirdingFishingSwimmingHorseback ridingCross-country skiingSnowmobilingand more

About This Trail

The Bizz Johnson Trail follows the Southern Pacific's old Fernley and Lassen branch for 25 miles between the Susanville Railroad Depot and Mason Station, a former junction north of Westwood. For the first 16 miles the wide gravel grade hugs the Susan River through its canyon, crossing the river a dozen times on old railroad bridges and passing through two timber-lined tunnels. Past Devils Corral the canyon opens and the trail climbs at a steady one to two percent through Jeffrey and ponderosa pine to the crest at Westwood Junction, then eases down to Mason Station. Most riders shuttle west and ride the long descent back to Susanville. There are no services between the ends.

RailTrailWx TIPS

Bizz Johnson Trail

Your comfort. Prognosticated.

The trail mostly follows the base of the south facing walls os the Susan River canyon, so the lower canyon between Susanville and Devils Corral gets sun most of the day and dries out faster than a shaded gorge would. The managers still ask riders to stay off the gravel when it is wet or muddy; tire ruts and horse post holes harden into hazards.
There is about 1,300 feet of elevation between Susanville and the crest at Westwood Junction. The pine forest west of Devils Corral holds snow in winter and turns very dry in summer, so the lower canyon rides weeks earlier in spring and stays cooler under the walls in summer than the open upper miles.
The corridor runs roughly east to west. Summer afternoons bring a down-canyon breeze toward Susanville, so the popular shuttle plan, drop at Mason Station and ride east, gives you the descent and a tailwind. A west wind is a headwind on the climb toward Goumaz.
The tunnels near Cheney Creek are cool and dark even in July; take off your sunglasses or carry a light. In winter they hang with icicles.
Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are best on the higher, shaded miles west of Highway 36 upstream of Devils Corral. Snowmobiles are allowed west of the last bridge west of Goumaz, so expect them on the Mason Station end after a storm.
Vehicle access to the Hobo Camp Day Use Area closes December 1 and reopens in spring for fishing season; you can still walk or bike in from the trail.
The small bridge that links the South Side Trail to the Devils Corral end is pulled for high water from winter into late spring. The year-round connections are at the east tunnel and between the twin bridges.
It is 25 miles with no towns or services between the ends; Goumaz has drinking water only from spring through fall. Hunting is allowed off the trail under state rules in fall, though shooting on or across the trail is prohibited.

-Cory

Trivia

The trail honors Harold T. "Bizz" Johnson, who represented northern California in Congress from 1958 to 1980 in a district that reached from Sacramento to Oregon and from the Pacific to the Nevada line.
Susan River and Susanville were named in 1857 for Susan Roop, daughter of early settler Isaac Roop.
The Susan River starts at Caribou Lake at 6,571 feet and ends in Honey Lake, never reaching the sea.
A San Francisco journalist wrote in 1865 that Devils Corral got its name from the bleached bones of an emigrant party's cattle that died of disease in the little rock-walled meadow.
Emigrants on the Nobles Trail swung north away from the Susan River to get around the chasm at Devils Corral, which their wagons could not cross.
The first highway bridge over Devils Corral was dedicated on November 24, 1923, in front of about 1,200 people.
The 1927 Susanville depot was nearly burned by the fire department as a training exercise in 1987 before local protests and Lassen Land and Trails Trust saved it; it joined the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
Locals call the trail simply "The Bizz," and it was inducted into the Rails to Trails Conservancy Hall of Fame in 2008.
About 132,000 hikers, bikers, anglers and other visitors used the trail in the year ending September 2025.
Stan Bales, the BLM recreation planner who first walked the abandoned grade in 1976 and pushed for the trail, retired in spring 2026 after 50 years at the Eagle Lake Field Office.

Climate

Excellent biking days per month, 2011-2025 climatology

In a typical year the Bizz Johnson Trail has about 137 to 186 days of excellent weather for popular activities such as hiking, dog walking, running, birding, e-biking, biking, and walking, with May, June, and September the best months.

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Hourly comfort scores for the next 15 days of weather, tuned to your activity and your own thresholds.

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Enjoy the Bizz Johnson Trail!

Peak Fall Color Climatology

There is too little deciduous tree cover along the Bizz Johnson Trail to measure a peak color window. The trail has 0% deciduous coverage, with the majority being California black oak.

History

Red River Lumber Company built Westwood from scratch in 1913, and the Southern Pacific laid the Fernley and Lassen branch to reach its mill. Emigrant wagons on the Nobles Trail had followed the Susan River toward the Sacramento Valley, then swung north to get around the lava walls at Devils Corral, a chasm they could not cross. Crews finished the branch in 1914. It ran about 112 miles from the transcontinental main line at Fernley, Nevada, through Susanville to Westwood, hauling logs and milled lumber east. Passenger service ended by 1934. Local freight ended in 1956, and in 1978 the Interstate Commerce Commission let the railroad pull up the line. Stan Bales, new to the BLM office in Susanville in 1976, walked the crumbling grade and made the case for a trail. Congressman Harold "Bizz" Johnson secured funds in 1980 for the BLM to buy the railroad lands, and the trail that carries his name was dedicated on August 31, 1983. It was later designated a National Recreation Trail. In 1987 volunteers formed Lassen Land and Trails Trust to save the 1927 Susanville depot; it is now the eastern trailhead and visitor center. The Hog Fire of 2020 burned historic wooden culverts west of Devils Corral, repaired the next year. The South Side Trail single track opened alongside the lower canyon in 2021, giving loops between Hobo Camp and Devils Corral.

Trailheads

Susanville DepotMILE 0Directions
Hobo Camp TrailheadMILE 0.7Directions
Devils Corral TrailheadMILE 6.8Directions
Goumaz TrailheadMILE 12.9Directions
Westwood JunctionMILE 17.8Directions
Mason Station TrailheadMILE 25.3Directions

Connects To

South Side Trail

Managed By

Bureau of Land Management Eagle Lake Field Office and Lassen National Forest Eagle Lake Ranger District

Nearby trails

Sacramento River Trail

18 mi·CA

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Springwater Corridor

21 mi·OR

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Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail

27 mi·UT

Explore Forecast

RailTrailWx TIPS

Bizz Johnson Trail

Your comfort. Prognosticated.

The trail mostly follows the base of the south facing walls os the Susan River canyon, so the lower canyon between Susanville and Devils Corral gets sun most of the day and dries out faster than a shaded gorge would. The managers still ask riders to stay off the gravel when it is wet or muddy; tire ruts and horse post holes harden into hazards.

There is about 1,300 feet of elevation between Susanville and the crest at Westwood Junction. The pine forest west of Devils Corral holds snow in winter and turns very dry in summer, so the lower canyon rides weeks earlier in spring and stays cooler under the walls in summer than the open upper miles.

The corridor runs roughly east to west. Summer afternoons bring a down-canyon breeze toward Susanville, so the popular shuttle plan, drop at Mason Station and ride east, gives you the descent and a tailwind. A west wind is a headwind on the climb toward Goumaz.

The tunnels near Cheney Creek are cool and dark even in July; take off your sunglasses or carry a light. In winter they hang with icicles.

Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are best on the higher, shaded miles west of Highway 36 upstream of Devils Corral. Snowmobiles are allowed west of the last bridge west of Goumaz, so expect them on the Mason Station end after a storm.

Vehicle access to the Hobo Camp Day Use Area closes December 1 and reopens in spring for fishing season; you can still walk or bike in from the trail.

The small bridge that links the South Side Trail to the Devils Corral end is pulled for high water from winter into late spring. The year-round connections are at the east tunnel and between the twin bridges.

It is 25 miles with no towns or services between the ends; Goumaz has drinking water only from spring through fall. Hunting is allowed off the trail under state rules in fall, though shooting on or across the trail is prohibited.

-Cory

Trail Facts

Activities

About This Trail

RailTrailWx TIPS

Trivia

Climate

RailTrailWx Comfort Scores, for your activity.

Peak Fall Color Climatology

History

Trailheads

Connects To

Managed By

Further Reading

Nearby trails

Trail Facts

Activities

About This Trail

RailTrailWx TIPS

Trivia

Climate

RailTrailWx Comfort Scores, for your activity.

Peak Fall Color Climatology

History

Trailheads

Connects To

Managed By

Further Reading

Nearby trails