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I recently enjoyed a fantastic bike ride on the Sacramento River Trail and the Sacramento River Rail Trail in late May 2025. Riding my TREK Checkpoint gravel bike, and knowing it would be a 100-degree day, I planned to begin early at 5:45 AM from the Sheraton Hotel by the Sundial Bridge in Redding. This hotel is conveniently located right on the Sacramento River Trail, making it an ideal overnight spot before the ride.
The evening before, just to say I completed the entire trail, I rode a few miles from the hotel to the Sacramento River Trailhead at Hilltop Drive. It was a short but surprisingly steep climb to reach the trailhead.
The next morning, starting at 5:45 AM, I rode from the hotel to the end of the Sacramento River Trail at Keswick Dam. From there, I easily connected to the Sacramento River Rail Trail and rode it to its end at the Shasta Dam Trailhead, before returning along the same route back to the hotel. The seamless connection between the two trails made for a smooth transition. My total roundtrip distance was approximately 40+ miles. The Sacramento River Trail is a lovely, mostly flat, and shaded path with interesting bridges, including the iconic Sundial Bridge at the start and end.
Upon reaching Keswick Dam, the Sacramento River Rail Trail begins with a very steep initial 0.6-mile climb. After conquering that first hill, you'll encounter another 2+ miles of up and down switchbacks, some of which are quite challenging. In total, there are 2.7 miles of switchbacks, earning its nickname "Heart Rate Hill." While it's not continuously uphill, the frequent ascents and descents make it a demanding section. I personally found the northbound climb more difficult than the return south, likely due to more sustained uphill sections. My trail app recorded a total elevation change of just over 1,600 feet for the entire ride.
Once past the initial 2.7 miles of switchbacks, the trail becomes a beautiful and mostly flat ride to the Shasta Dam Trailhead. This section is scenic, following the Sacramento River and even passing through a 500-foot historic train tunnel.
While you can continue past the Shasta Dam trailhead to the top of the dam, it involves riding on a somewhat busy public road, which I chose to skip. For those wanting to avoid the 2.7 miles of switchbacks, an alternative starting point is the Keswick Boat Launch, which has parking available. From there, a roundtrip ride to the Shasta Dam Trailhead would be approximately 16 to 17 miles.
As a 71-year-old, I embarked on a personal goal last year to ride all the Rails to Trails Hall of Fame trails in my 70s. Last year, I completed the Great Allegheny Passage Trail, the C\&O Trail, the Illinois Prairie Path, the Pinellas Trail, and the Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail. I must say that the Sacramento River Rail Trail, with its nearly 5.5 miles of hilly switchbacks roundtrip, was the toughest single-day ride I've experienced! However, it was absolutely worth it—another unforgettable adventure and another pin on my map!
We rode our bikes on this trail from the far west end parking area for 1.5 miles, before giving up and turning around because of the falling hazard. The gravel is so thick in the center of the path, that it causes your tires to get hung up and you are unable to steer. There was a deep hole in the path, probably caused by an animal. You cant see it until you are on top of it. There are pine trees and bushes growing over the trail that scratch you and force you into the thick gravel. The trail needs major maintenance to make it safe for bike riding. almost fell a couple Itwas so slow going
Too bad there isn’t a lower score. We bike a lot, mountain, gravel and road. This surface is unrideable. There is soft cinder - varies in the middle from 4-8” and is not compacted. The bushes are grown over the sides scratching your arms and legs. We rode 12 miles and rode back along the hwy on mountain bikes.
It is a great concept and wonderful that the trail is started and reserved for the future. It’s is not usable in this condition.
There were lots of butterflies, flowers, beautiful trees, some views of Shasta and I wanted to love this trail.
The cinder needs to be removed and someone with bike experience and someone with trail building experience needs to be on the committee in the future. It’s probably great for snowmobiles and ATV’s.
I combined this trail with the Sacramento River Trail, starting at Turtle Bay. I didn't know what to expect and was thrilled after getting to the top of Heart Rate Hill and seeing more hills, dips and curves! I felt like I was mountain biking only on a paved trail. The scenery was gorgeous and we were the only people on the trail until we go back toward Heart Rate Hill.
I highly recommend this trail if you get to be in the Redding area!
We started off Black Ranch Rd. It's a typical rail trail and the cinder made it more challenging.Motorized vehicles have put some ruts on the trail. From Hwy 89 to the end point of the trail where bridge crossed Lake Briton was pure joy.
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.
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!
Rode the entire route yesterday. The only downside was the first two miles from Keswick Dam. It's not a typical gradual rail grade. Great scenery, great surface, and no traffic noise. At one point I just stopped to enjoy the silence.
I recommend pushing up the switchback road between the north end of the trail to Shasta Dam. They offer great views and tours of the dam. You can actually ride across the top of the dam, unlike the dams in Washington State.
Departed from Keswick Dam parking area this morning. The first 1/2 mile is seriously steep, immediately, but after a mile or two of some good ups and downs, it is pretty close to flat along the water all the way to the campground below Shasta Dam.
The trail is paved and in excellent condition, just fine for my road bike; could have used the hill climbing gears on my mountain bike in a couple of spots near the beginning. Beautiful ride. Take water. Vault toilets at both ends, in remarkably clean condition for that type of facility. I will go back, maybe kyak, too, next time.
We started this ride from the Sundial Bridge in Redding which added another 8 miles each way. At the Shasta campgrounds destination, we decided to ride up to Shasta Dam. A moderately steep 2 to 3 miles uphill, but the view from the dam and the ride back was worth it.
Road surface was excellent all the way through, and crowd traffic was reasonable. Very nice views of the river and lake. Bring lots of water and imagine that it can be hot in the summer.
If you're inclined to start from the Sundial Bridge, the bike trail on the south side of the river has less foot traffic which makes riding more pleasurable. Total of about 44 miles.
As of early 2011, the Sacramento River Rail Trail is completely paved. So now you can ride on pavement from Redding at the Sun Dial Bridge to Shasta dam.
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