This is a gorgeous quiet ride- not that many bikers and almost all paved. There is a gap though, right in the middle of the ride, where the fires burnt the bridge and the rails/ road have been destroyed - so unless you are an expert mountain biker and can ride around it (steeply down a canyon and back up to the other side) you will need to turn around. No biggie- as it is still and lovely ride and loops both sides of the river.

The wife and I rode the trail on a perfect September late afternoon back in 2013. On our way to bike rides in Oregon and Washington, we stopped in Redding for the night after driving all day from southern California.
With a few hours to spare before dinner, we decided to get some exercise and to bike the trail. It wasn't on our trip agenda, but what a smart decision it was!
Starting at the Sundial Bridge, we enjoyed a leisurely, serene ride up along one side of the river and then back down along the opposite side. With the exception of a couple of hills going up river that the wife hated, the trail was fairly easy for a couple of middle age fifty somethings to negotiate. I especially enjoyed the river views and going through the forest of trees on the down river side!
We'll always have fond memories of that beautiful late summer unexpected afternoon ride, and we burned enough calories after sitting in the SUV all day to justify a good dinner afterwards!

We hit trail closures from Sundial Park on both sides making it impossible to do a loop or to go very far. On the North side of the river, The Sacramento River Trail Bridge was closed so you can’t cross over to the other side there and have to turn around a backtrack. On the south side, the trail is closed at the Middle Creek Trail intersection. We ended up riding the Middle Creek Trail which travels through burned, scorched woods.

Beautiful trees on the trail. The area is beautiful. After about 1.5-2 miles on the trail, there is a bridge over a creek and that is so gorgeous!

But a couple of things to beware of. 1- there are no signs on the side of the road so when you turn off the 89 it is 1 mile- so just pay attention to the mileage. You do see the red cinders and the trail going up the road, so that helps to ID the trail. Also not a lot of places to park.

The biggest issue was the red cinder substrate. It was very loose and thick so not only is it tough to steer in but, pulls your bicycle tires so it is tough to ride. The shoulders are VERY LOOSE (substrate) and the center of the trail road is also higher and loose so tough to cross over it from side to side. After about 2 miles on the trail there was a hard packed dirt road so we left the trail and followed the dirt road which was so much easier to steer and ride on.

We will not be back. Maybe once the substrate gets rained on and is more compact it might be better but we almost wrecked on our bicycles several times and my husband has a fat bike (so the tires are bigger - more like a motorcycle) and I have mountain bike tires and so they both should have been ok in the substrate but it was tough!

it's a good trail... it has super big steep hills.

My wife and I did this loop on two different occassions while visiting Redding. We had no trouble finding the trail head or sticking on the trail. The scenery as you head toward the damn is absolutely gorgeous--large boulders, spring flowers, and the beautiful blue and green colors of the fountain head of the Sacramento river.

The trail on one side of the river is almost totally flat, while the trail on the other side is a roller coaster of short up and downhill climbs. There are several creeks you cross and plenty of benches to stop and enjoy the scenery. There are even some public restrooms.

I'm sure we will do this trail on every visit to Redding.

This is a well maintained trail, but very confusing for visitors. The route is through various parks, parking lots, senior centers and private neighborhoods. However, there is a total lack of directional signs. Even a simple sign with a directional arrow would be sufficient. The trail on the north side is hilly, but the trail on the south side is more of a converted rail bed. We rode the trail on a Friday and it was very busy.

Short but sweet! Immaculate paved bike trail with amazing views of the Sac River! We will be back!

Rode every mile on TrailLink's map of this trail. Great scenery and excellent trail surface. I recommend the Middle Creek spur as well. The east side of the river is not really a rail type trail. It's a roller coaster ride but lots of fun to do coming downstream.