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The Sacramento River Trail runs about 18 miles from the foot of Shasta Dam south along the west shore of Keswick Reservoir, then east along the river into Redding, ending at the glass-decked Sundial Bridge. The northern half is the old Southern Pacific grade: an open canyon shelf above the blue-green reservoir, a few short hills, and a 500-foot rail tunnel. Below Keswick Dam the trail crosses the river on the 1990 stress ribbon bridge and follows the north bank through oaks and riparian woods past the 1915 Diestelhorst Bridge. The whole route is paved. Riding it end to end is a long, gradual descent toward town, with the climb saved for the ride back.
Sacramento River Trail
Your comfort. Prognosticated.
-Cory
In a typical year the Sacramento River Trail has about 139 to 216 days of excellent weather for popular activities such as hiking, birding, dog walking, biking, walking, e-biking, and running, with April, May, and October the best months.
Hourly comfort scores for the next 15 days of weather, tuned to your activity and your own thresholds.
Plan your visit to this trail. Get the best windows for a comfortable outing.
Enjoy the Sacramento River Trail!
In half of past years, color along the Sacramento River Trail peaks October 23 to November 9, typically around November 1. The trail has 15% deciduous coverage, with the majority being canyon live oak.
The last train left the Sacramento River Canyon on May 23, 1942, ahead of the water filling behind Shasta Dam. The line began as the California and Oregon Railroad, chartered in 1865 to link Marysville with Portland. The Central Pacific bought it in 1870 and pushed rails to Redding by 1872. Rails met at Ashland, Oregon, in 1887. Under the Southern Pacific this became the Shasta Route. Its freight was copper, with smelters along the track at Coram, Iron Mountain, Copper City, and Kennett. Shasta Dam went up starting in 1937, and the railroad moved to a new alignment to the east. Light service lingered on the surviving branch until 1980. Three years later, in 1983, the first section of the Sacramento River Trail opened near Redding, on the north bank along an old mining road. In 1990 a concrete stress ribbon bridge, the first in North America, closed a 5.5-mile loop on both sides of the river. The Secretary of the Interior named the trails National Recreation Trails in 2002, and the Sundial Bridge opened in 2004. The Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Reclamation then carried the paved rail trail up the west shore of Keswick Reservoir to Shasta Dam. In 2024 the trails entered the Rails to Trails Hall of Fame, and a downtown connector closed a four-mile loop between the Sundial and Diestelhorst bridges.
Hornbeck TrailEastside Keswick TrailsMiddle Creek Trail
