bicycle touring lassen and plumas national forests

7/29/2019 Bicycle Touring Lassen and Plumas National Forests

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Bicycle Touring Lassen and Plumas National Forests

These forests are located in northeast California and are a perfect place to tour in the summer months(June through October), since temperatures are usually mild due to the elevation, especially at night, andthere is plenty of shade in the vast forests. Towns of Susanville, Chester, Greenville, Old Station, togetherwith the Eagle Lake campground offer a wide variety of resupply and lodging options, so there will be no

need to carry huge amounts of food or water and it will be possible to clean up in a motel room orcampground shower every few days and thus avoiding being filthy all the time. The huge network of dirtroads means travel along dangerous paved roads can be mostly avoided. Much of the area is covered bynational forests, where it is legal to camp anywhere, so long as you follow "leave-no-trace" principles.Please do not make campfires, as the area is prone to wildfires in the dry summer months. The area iseasy to reach (via mostly dirt roads) from either Chico to the west or Reno to the east. Though the area ismountainous, it is possible to avoid huge ascents/descents if these don't interest you (other than gettingfrom/to Chico, if that is your starting point, since Chico is near sea level and the Lassen area is between4000 and 8000 feet for the most part).

Here is my journal and photos from touring this area in Aug 2012.

Recommended maps and other navigational tools

Pages from the California Road and Recreation Atlas by Benchmark Maps (2010 edition), 1:300,000scale, with lat/long grid (NAD83 datum), relief indicated by shading and elevation in feet of selectedpeaks. Cut pages out and trim margins so folded pages fit into 12"x12" Aloksak, so as to protect mapsfrom tearing and prevent them from being blown about by the wind. I carry two of these 12"x12"Aloksaks: one for the page or pages I am currently using, one for the remaining pages. Hand-write pagenumbers on the trimmed pages, since the printed page numbers are part of what will need to be trimmed.These are very high-quality maps, certainly much better than the DeLorme and Rand McNally road atlas

maps with respect to the network of dirt roads. Scale is too small to use as a primary navigational tool, butvery useful for route-planning and for those areas not covered by the forest service maps. Pages 47, 48,49, 53, 54, 55, 59, 60, 61 from the landscape section cover the entire northeast corner of California (LakeTahoe on the south, Oregon border on the north, Nevada border to the east, central valley to the west).Pages 14 and 18 from the recreational section might also be useful. Unlike with the forest service maps,both public and private roads are shown. However, private roads may be blocked off by fences and gates,or may be abandoned and blocked by fallen trees. So even if a road shown on the map exists on theground, it may not be usable.

USDA Forest Service map for Lassen National Forest (2012 edition). This map is printed on durable,water-resistant plasticized paper. 1:126,720 scale, lat-long grid every 7.5 minutes (NAD83 datum), plus

section grid. Sections were how property was historically divided up in the United States, and typicallymeasure 1 mile on a side, though sometimes there are odd-shaped sections. Based on the fact that aminute of latitude in the Lassen area is slightly more than a mile, and a minute of longitude is slightly lessthan a mile, it is easy to find which section you are in using lat-long coordinates shown on a GPS device,and that is sufficient accuracy to navigate when staying on roads, dirt or otherwise. (Obviously, a properUTM grid would be better than this section kludge.) Map shows elevation for selected peaks plus somerelief shading, but not nearly as much elevation information as I would like to see. The Lassen map coversall of Lassen National forest and most of Plumas national forest, and so was my primary navigational toolduring my 2012 tour. I would say I accessed this map 20 times per day on average, at least when in thearea covered by this map. Besides lack of elevation information, the other major deficiency of this map is

that it fails to show the entire network of dirt roads, especially dirt roads that are primarily or entirely onprivate land, even though many of the dirt roads on timber company land are open to bicycle traffic. Ipurchased this map at REI.

ycle Touring Lassen and Plumas National Forests http://frankrevelo.com/hiking/dest_us_lassen.ht

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lassen forest service map folded into a square that fits neatly into my handlebar bag, note the section grid

USDA Forest Service map for Plumas National Forest (2001 edition). Printed on regular paper, ratherthan the plasticized paper used for the Lassen map. Like the Lassen map, 1:126,720 scale with lat-longgrid every 7.5 minutes (NAD27 datum) plus section grid. No relief information other than elevation forselected peaks. Due to the huge amount of overlap between this and the Lassen map, and because theLassen map is more durable and otherwise superior, I almost never used this Plumas map, other than oncewhen I wanted to confirm that a plot of forest in the clover valley was national forest (it was). I would notcarry this map on future tours, since I have no special interest in the areas of southern Plumas national

forest which it covers but which are not covered by the Lassen map (these southern areas are moremountainous than the northern areas, hence lots of strenuous ascents/descents, plus the network of dirtroads is less dense).

GPS of some sort is essential for finding your position on the paper maps, and a mapping GPS loaded withtopo maps is highly advisable. I used the Garmin Etrex 20 loaded with Garmin 1:100,000 topographicmaps for the entire United States. The topo information is invariably accurate and will remain accurate.But the road information, obtained from the Census TIGER road database, has many errors with respectto the dirt roads. Supposedly, the Garmin 1:25,000 topo maps have a more accurate road database. TheEtrex 20 has a small display, so is cumbersome to use for route-planning. For all these reasons and alsobecause any GPS, like any electronics, can fail in the field, the mapping GPS should be used in addition to

paper maps, rather than as a replacement.

Most bike tourists will be carrying a smartphone for voice communication and internet access. It ispossible to use the smartphone as a substitute for a dedicated GPS, but this is inadvisable. Outdoor GPSsare more rugged and waterproof than smartphones, run on field-replaceable AA batteries rather thanrequiring a charging system, can be mounted directly on the bicycle handlebars, and having a dedicatedGPS plus a smartphone allows the latter to serve as backup in case the former fails. For the smartphone toserve as a backup GPS, it should be loaded with offline maps, topo maps if possible, since there will be nonetwork access in remote areas. My Nokia N8 smartphone comes pre-loaded with offline Navteq roadmaps. These Navteq maps are more accurate than the Garmin 100K maps with respect to the paved roadnetwork, but they do not show the full network of unpaved roads and they lack topo information.

Because the Nokia N8 has a standard smartphone pinch-to-zoom and swipe-to-pan interface, I find theNokia N8 and its Navteq maps easier to use for navigating in the city than the Garmin GPS. On the otherhand, because the Nokia N8 lacks a high-sensitivity GPS receiver, it will not work under heavy tree cover,and heavy tree cover is the rule in the Lassen area. Even in open areas, the Nokia N8 is much slower to


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get a position fix than the Etrex 20.

Crude north-south orientation can normally be easily determined from the sun. However, there have beentimes when I wanted more precise orientation, such as to identify a ranch that was visible 20 miles awayacross a valley, using a combination of my paper map and my known current position on that paper map.Accuracy of orientation to within about 10 degrees is sufficient for this, so no need for a fancy compasswith sighting mirror, just a simple fluid-filled compass with degrees marked on the sides. Declination ofmagnetic north is between 14 and 15 degrees east of true north in the Lassen area as of 2012.

Getting to the area from Reno

Tahoe-Pyramid bikeway between Reno and Verdi. Henness Pass and Smithneck roads between Verdi andLoyalton. Route A24 plus a short stretch of highway 70 between Loyalton and Beckwourth. BeckwourthGenesee road between Beckwourth and Genesee valley. From there, use Lassen forest service map tonavigate, after reading the section on safety below.

There are open forests with flat spots along Henness Pass road, and then again along BeckwourthGenesee Road (especially the area about 5 miles north of Beckwourth and then again at 10 miles north of

Beckwourth, just north of the Clover Valley Ranch). The vast Sierra valley is privately owned and fencedcattle grazing land, unsuitable for camping, as is most of Clover Valley other than the patch of forest justnoted. North of Clover Valley, the Beckwourth road traverses a steep canyon with no flat spots. A strongcyclist could make it from Reno to the forests along Beckwourth Genesee road in a single day. Otherwise,make a late start the first day and camp on Henness Pass road, then take a short second day and camp justnorth of Clover Valley ranch. Genesee and Indian valleys are mostly privately owned and fenced. Ifheading to Chester, there are open forests with flat spots along the Old Haun road (the road I recommendbetween Greenville and Canyondam). Alternatively, there are motels in Greenville. There might be a barwith rooms for rent in Loyalton, so a possibility for those who dislike camping is to stay there and thenagain at one of the motels in Greenville. Similar considerations as to camping/lodging possibilities apply toreturning to Reno.

An alternative route, for those living in North Reno, is north Virgina to Bordertown, then the Statervilleroad between Bordertown and Loyalton. I have not tried this road, but the Benchmark Road Atlas showsit to be solid gravel. This road will be very steep towards the top, based on Google maps terraininformation. [Update: another bike tourist from the Reno area notified me that he had tried the Statervilleroad and found it blocked by gates, but that there might be ways around the gates, he isn't sure.]

Getting to the area from Chico

There are two routes on mostly dirt roads, the old Lassen trail route to the west of highway 32, and theHumbug route to the east of highway 32. The Lassen trail route rises to a max of about 5000 feet whilethe Humbug route rises to almost 7000 feet. Since someone coming from Chico (or elsewhere in central orcoastal California) would presumably not be altitude acclimated initially, it would probably be best to usethe former route to get to the Lassen area and the latter for returning to Chico. I'll describe both routes asif traveling from downtown Chico to Chester.

Lassen trail route: Cohasset road, 28N29, 27N08, 28N20 to highway 32. Cross highway 32 to a loggingroad which is not shown on the forest service route. Follow this for about 2 miles to where furtherprogress is blocked by a gate and the road exits to a turnout on highway 36. Follow highway 36 east forabout 1.5 miles. See below for photo and discussion of this stretch of highway 36, which is not toodangerous. Turn right (south) onto 28N78, followed by 28N79 and 28N30. Last 3 miles, from the

intersection of highways 36 and 89 to Chester, is along highway 36, which has a wide shoulder at thispoint and hence is not too dangerous.

The descent into and out of Deer Creek canyon is rugged and steep. I had to push for an hour on theascent. I was traveling from Chester to Chico, but I believe the ascent in the opposite direction would be


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equivalent in difficulty. Total distance from Chico to Chester will be about 88 miles, with over 7000 feetof ascent and 3000 of descent, and maximum elevation of about 5000 feet. Traveling in the oppositedirection took me over 11 hours of pedalling and pushing. Most cyclists will want to split this trip into twodays and camp somewhere along the way. I camped on an abandoned logging road near Four LanternFlat, but there are plenty of other possibilities further to the north. Not so many possibilities south of thatpoint.

Humbug route: Skyway to the Honey run road exit. Decent shoulder on Skyway to this point.Alternatively, there might be a bike path which runs from downtown Chico to the Honey Run road, thusmaking it possible to avoid Skyway entirely. Honey Run road is quiet. Fork left at the Honey Run coveredbridge onto Centerville road, which is very quiet. About a mile past the Centerville museum/school,Centerville road turns to gravel and has little or no traffic until it reaches the Nimshew development,where it becomes paved again. Fork left onto Humbug road, which eventually merges with Skyway. APG&E campground at this point makes a good location for a rest stop. Skyway is fairly quiet up here,whereas it was a multi-lane expressway back near Chico. Follow Skyway about a mile north, then forkleft onto Powellton road (25N16), which is gravel. Powellton road parallels and eventually merges withSkyway about 5 miles to the north. At this point, Skyway is very quiet. Follow Skyway north for anotherfew miles, then fork right onto the Humbug Summit road, aka route 915/13, which soon turns to gravel.

Shortly after passing Humbug summit, there is an intersection of gravel roads, which is incorrectly signed,so pay careful attention to the map rather than the road signs. Either continue on the Humbug road (route307), or take the Yellow Creek road (27N65, 27N04, route 308). Yellow Creek road is almost straightdownhill, whereas Humbug road descends into Humbug valley then ascends before descending again, butboth routes are scenic. The two roads merge as they approach highway 89. Just before highway 89, turnleft (to the north) onto a dirt road (not shown on the forest service map) which parallels highway 89. Last3 miles, from the intersection of highways 36 and 89 to Chester, is along highway 36, which has a wideshoulder at this point and hence is not too dangerous.

Total distance between Chico and Chester for the Humbug route will be about 77 miles, with over 7000feet of ascent and 3000 feet of descent, and maximum elevation near 7000 feet. It took me over 11 hours

to cover this distance, pedalling the whole way. Most cyclists will want to split this trip into two days andcamp somewhere along the way. I camped at a saddle near Gold Hill, after about 36 miles and 5000 feetof ascent, but there are plenty of other places to camp after this point.

Getting to Chico from Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area

As of 2012, Amtrak allows bikes on board its trains, but there is only one train per day between Chicoand Sacramento and it arrives/departs Chico in the middle of the night. However, there are fourAmtrak/Capital Corridor thruway buses that travel between Chico and Sacramento at more convenienthours, and supposedly these will also accept bikes as baggage, provided there is room in the baggagecompartment. Ask on one of the bike forums about this.

Finally, it is possible to get to Sacramento from the Bay Area with a bike via Capital Corridor trains. Note,however, that demand for bike storage on Capital Corridor trains is very high.

Safety

One of the best things about touring in the Lassen and Plumas national forests is the possibility ofavoiding busy highways for the most part. Note that even when a highway has an excellent hard shoulderand open sightlines (such as highway 70 between Beckwourth and Vinton, see photo below), there is stillthe possibility of a drunk or distracted driver veering onto the shoulder (or a distracted cyclist veering off

the shoulder into traffic). It is thus safest, in my opinion, to avoid being anywhere near fast-movingtraffic, which means sticking to dirt roads as much as possible, with quiet paved roads (such as those ofthe Indian and Genesee valleys) as a next-best alternative.

Suggestions for avoiding busy highways:


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Follow the instructions above for getting to the area from Reno or Chico via mostly dirt roads.To get from Taylorsville to Greenville, use routes 212 and 112.To get from Greenville to Canyondam, use routes 202 and 201 (old haun road), followed by a milealong route 147. You absolutely want to avoid highway 89 between Greenville and Canyondam(see photo and discussion below).To get from Canyondam to Chester, travel 2 miles on highway 89 to the boat ramp exit, then usethe Lake Almanor Recreation trail to get to Lake Almanor West, then cross highway 89 to theHumbolt/Humbug road and turn right (north) at the first dirt road, which runs parallel to highway89 (this dirt road is not shown on the forest service map because it is on private forest companyland, but it does exist). The 3 mile stretch of Highway 36 between highway 89 and Chester has avery wide shoulder and so is not particularly dangerous (there is also a dirt road alternative, notshown on the forest service map, but then you have to contend with gravel trucks on thisalternative, so I'm not sure it would be safer).To get from Chester to the Bizz Johnson trail and thus to Susanville, take route 318 (Juniper Lakeroad), then 28N12 (take left fork or "M" line, since right fork or "L" line leads to Last ChanceCampground), then 32N10 aka route 10, then 30N07 until this intersects the Bizz Johnson trail.Route A21 is quiet between Bizz Johnson trail and Westwood, in case you want to visit the latter.Huge network of dirt roads allows for avoiding highway 44 for the most part, other than the descent

from Hat Creek Rim to Old Station. Indeed, the huge open forests in this area might be consideredthe primary reason for visiting the Lassen area and so these dirt roads are worth traveling for theirown sake, rather than merely to avoid highway 44.

Places where travel on a busy highway might be required:

Downtown Reno to Verdi along the Tahoe Pyramid bike route. A few busy stretches, but nothingreally dangerous. Widely used bike route by Reno area bicyclists.Downtown Chico along Skyway to the Honey Run road exit. I believe there is a bike path to avoidthis stretch of Skyway. In any case, Skyway has a good shoulder up to this point (after this point,the shoulder disappears).

One mile on route 147 between the Old Haun Road (route 201) and Canyondam. Photo anddiscussion below.Two miles on Highway 89 between Canyondam and the southern end of the Lake AlmanorRecreation Trail. There is a 3 foot shoulder, so I didn't find this stretch to be seriously dangerous. Itis certainly nothing like the stretch of highway 89 between Greenville and Canyondam.Two miles on Highway 36 to get from Chester to where the Lassen Trail (forest service road28N20) exits from highway 32, since the dirt road shown on the forest service map as running southof and parallel to highway 36 is blocked by a gate. Photo and discussion below.Five or so miles on Highway 44 to descend from Hat Creek Rim to Old Station. I have not traveledthis stretch of highway 44, so I don't know how dangerous it is. The stretch of highway 44 I didtravel seemed reasonably safe. Photo and discussion below.Two miles on highway 36 to get from Susanville to the Eagle Lake road (route A1). A good hardshoulder and open sight lines, so not particularly dangerous. It might be possible to use dirt roads toget from Susanville to Eagle Lake Summit (midway between Susanville and Eagle Lake) andconnect up with route A1 there. Benchmark road atlas, Nokia N8 and Garmin Etrex 20 maps allshow such a dirt road, but forest service map does not. Forest service map frequently does not showroads that are mostly on privately owned land, as this dirt road would be.


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Highway 89 between Greenville and Canyondam. Frequent blind curves, no hard shoulder, soft shouldersloped to form a ditch and also extremely soft and thus likely to cause skidding and falling back onto theroad, perhaps right under the wheels of a big truck. This 5 mile stretch requires about 1000 feet ofelevation gain, so stretches of more than 5% grade. Loaded touring bicycles will thus be moving slowly attimes and possibly wobbling from side to side, while motor vehicles will be passing at 60+ mph. Photowas taken early on a Sunday morning, but there was already moderate traffic then. I was in a rush to getoff this road and so neglected to include traffic in the photo (same reason the photo is partly obscured bymy finger). Normally, traffic is very heavy. All in all, an extremely dangerous road for bicyclists.

Old Haun Road. This is the peaceful dirt road alternative to the extremely dangerous stretch of highway89 between Greenville and Canyondam. You'll be lucky to be see any cars/trucks on this road and those

you do see will be moving very slowly. Only disadvantage is an extra 300 feet of elevation gain (1300 feettotal versus about 1000 feet for highway 89).


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Route 147, which runs north along east side of Lake Almanor, from Canyondam to Westwood.Alternative to taking the Recreation trail along the west side of Lake Almanor to get from Canyondam toChester. No hard shoulder, but at least no blind curves, only moderate traffic and soft shoulder not so softas to cause easy skidding (assuming you have fat tires and are not traveling too fast). Also, as the signsuggests, there is considerable pedestrian movement across this road, due to being lined with vacationhouses and RV parks on both sides in many places, so trucks at least tend to drive carefully and not toofast.

Highway 36 west of Chester. No hard shoulder, but also no blind curves and soft shoulder not so soft as tocause easy skidding. So just go slow and move carefully onto soft shoulder in case of heavy traffic. Onemile on highway 36 is required to get between Chester and the intersection of 28N20 (the old Lassen

trail) and highway 32. Forest service map shows 28N81 as a way to avoid highway 36, but that road isblocked by a locked gate. So follow 28N78 to highway 36, then highway 36 west for about a mile, pastthe St Bernard Lodge and various houses, to where highway 36 makes a sharp bend right (to the north)and there is a turnout. Here it is possible to get back onto a dirt logging road (not shown on the map),


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which parallels highway 36 the rest of the way to highway 32.

Highway 44 near Poison Lake (between Old Station and Susanville). I only traveled a brief stretch alongthis highway, but it seemed reasonably safe: no blind curves, a 3 foot hard shoulder, moderate traffic. Still,I see no reason to travel on a highway when there are dirt road alternatives, at least for a tourist in no rushto get anywhere. Several miles on Highway 44 will be required to descend from Hat Creek Rim to OldStation. Not sure as to conditions on that required stretch.

Highway 70 east of Beckwourth. Hard shoulder is smooth, almost 8 feet wide, and with rumble stripseparating shoulder from traffic lanes. If only all paved roads had shoulders like this!

Local Bike Shops

Bicycle Bananas in Susanville. I visited this local bike shop and talked to the owner and canrecommend it as having a competent service department.Bodfish Bicycles in Chester. I visited this local bike shop and talked to the owner and can


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recommend it as having a competent service department.Quincy Bike Shop, Lawrence and Leonard Streets, 530-283-4015. I obtained this address from thePlumas County tourism guide, but did not visit the shop myself.Mountain Hardware in Blairsden (near Portola) has bike stuff, 530-836-2589. I obtained thisaddress from the Plumas County tourism guide, but did not visit the shop myself.

Connectivity

ATT has strong 3G service in Chester and Susanville. Probably the other services are also strong in thesetowns, because they have sizeable populations.

Public libraries in both Chester and Susanville offer free wireless, both when open and after hours. Mostmotels offer wireless as well, though sometimes it doesn't work. For example, the River Inn wireless neverworked properly (supposedly, they are planning an upgrade soon), so I used the nearby public libraryinstead.

Lodging information

Prices below do not include 10% tax.

Susanville - Apple Inn, 530-257-4726, advertising $45 in August 2012.Susanville - Best Western, 530-257-4123, $80 to $129 according to tourist office brochure.Susanville - Budget Host Frontier Inn Motel, 530-257-4141.Susanville - Diamond Mountain Casino Hotel, 530-252-1100, 877-319-8514, $86 to $149 accordingto tourist office brochure.Susanville - Diamond View Motel, 530-257-4585. advertising $40 in August 2012 and that is what Ipaid then.Susanville - High Country Inn, 530-257-3450, 866-454-4566, $84 to $100 according to touristoffice brochure.

Susanville - Knights Inn Motel, 530-257-6577, $49 according to surly owner, who I called inAugust 2012.Susanville - Motel 9, 530-251-5702, advertising $40 in August 2012.Susanville - River Inn Motel, 530-257-6051, $54 to $64 according to tourist office brochure. I paid$49 in August 2012.Susanville - Roseberry House Bed and Breakfast, 530-257-5675.Susanville - Super 8 Motel, 530-257-2782, 800-800-8000, $72 to $82 according to tourist officebrochure.Chester - Antlers Motel, 530-258-2722, $80 according to tourist office brochure.Chester - Best Western, 530-258-2022, 888-571-4885, $89 to $179 according to tourist officebrochure.Chester - Bidwell House Bed and Breakfast, 530-258-3338, $85 to $175 according to tourist officebrochure.Chester - Seneca Motel, 530-258-2815, $51 to $75 according to tourist office brochure. I paid $51and $41 in August 2012.Greenville - Hideaway Motel and Lodge, 530-284-7915, $70 to $95 according to tourist officebrochure.Greenville - Sierra Lodge, 530-284-6154, $60 to $82 according to tourist office brochure.Greenville - Oak Grove Motor Lodge (a mile south of town via dangerous highway 89, so not

recommended due to location), 530-284-6671, $65 to $120 according to tourist office brochure.Lassen National Park - Drakesbad Guest Ranch, 866-999-0914, $155 to $179 (all meals included)according to tourist office brochure.


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Water sources

Much of the area is quite dry in summer, so be careful about relying on natural sources. A cyclistpedalling uphill can easy go through 6 to 8 liters/day in hot weather, so I advise 12+ liters capacity. Forexample, dual 6 liter Dromedary bladders in the panniers plus some water bottles in the front triangle.(Dromedaries cannot be filled to the top without spilling, so actual capacity of the 6 liter size is about 5.5liters). Make sure your urine runs clear at least once per day. Kidney stones are painfulI'm speaking

from experience here.

Loyalton: town parkTaylorsville: country campground just outside townGreenville: town parkChester: town parkWestwood: town parkSusanville: various town parksOld Station: ranger's station or Subway caveEagle lake: campgroundsHumbug summit: cold springs is a piped spring that runs year round

Warner valley/Drakesbad resort: campground


bicycle touring lassen and plumas national forests

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