Bikers get 80 new miles of trails at one of California’s busiest parks

NPS finalizes bike access for 80 miles

The National Park Service finalized a rule on Feb. 9 allowing bikes on about 80 miles of trails at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area in Northern California.

The rule takes effect March 11. Whiskeytown covers 42,000 acres in Shasta County, about eight miles west of Redding.

Congress created the recreation area back in 1965, and it now draws more than 800,000 visitors a year. The new regulation pulls together existing and planned bike trails under one rule.

One rule covers old and new trails

The rule gives the park superintendent authority to designate about 80 miles of trails for bike use. That number includes trails already open to bikes, trails being rerouted, and brand-new trails still to be built.

So this isn’t all fresh access. It brings everything under one federal regulation instead of a patchwork of separate decisions.

Visitors will find the full list of designated trails in the Superintendent’s Compendium and on maps at the visitor center.

Planning started in 2017 then fire hit

The NPS kicked off its trails planning in 2017 with public input.

Then the Carr Fire tore through in 2018, burning about 39,000 of the park’s 42,000 acres and putting the whole project on hold.

Planning picked back up in 2020 with revised options that reflected how much the landscape had changed.

The NPS released a Trails Management Plan and Environmental Assessment in June 2021 and signed off on the final impact findings in March 2022.

The Carr Fire reshaped the park

The Carr Fire started on July 23, 2018, after a travel trailer’s tire blew out on Highway 299 and threw sparks.

The fire burned about 230,000 total acres in and around the recreation area and caused more than $1.6 billion in damages across the region.

The NPS has called it the most destructive fire in National Park System history. As of April 2025, about 12% of trails remained closed because of fire damage.

New trails connect key areas of the park

The biggest addition is the Whiskeytown Lake Trail, about eight miles long, connecting the Brandy Creek area with the Carr Powerhouse area.

A new Shasta Divide Trail, about seven miles, will give riders views of Mount Shasta and Lassen Peak. Three informal social trails will also merge into about a mile of new official trail.

All the new routes connect to existing trails to create more loop options for hikers and bikers.

Seven trails get rerouted for sustainability

Seven multi-use trails will move to new routes because their current paths became unsustainable from erosion, steep grades, or packed-down soil.

The park will permanently close about 5.1 miles of trail and let those areas return to natural condition. The new routes follow more sustainable alignments built to handle how many people actually use them.

With more than 800,000 visitors each year, wear and tear on trails adds up fast.

Some trails stay off-limits to bikes

Not every trail opens to bikes. The Shasta Divide Nature Trail, Davis Gulch Trail, Crystal Creek Water Ditch Trail, and Boulder Creek Falls Trail all remain hiker-only.

The James K. Carr Memorial Trail to Whiskeytown Falls allows bikes only on the first 0.4 miles, up to the Mill Creek Trail junction.

The Brandy Creek Falls Trail also closes to bikes past its intersection with Rich Gulch Trail.

E-bikes face limits on these trails

The new rule covers traditional bikes only. It does not separately authorize e-bikes on any trails.

Class 1 e-bikes, which assist only when the rider pedals and cut off at 20 mph, can already use trails open to regular bikes under existing NPS policy.

Class 2 and Class 3 e-bikes can only ride on roads open to public motor vehicles, not trails. The superintendent keeps the authority to allow or restrict e-bike use case by case.

Ten public comments shaped the final rule

The NPS received 10 public comments during a 60-day window that closed on Feb. 28, 2025. People raised concerns about wildlife, trail conditions, conflicts between hikers and bikers, e-bike use, and signage.

One commenter opposed allowing bikes on the Whiskeytown Falls Trail because of steep drop-offs. The NPS pointed out that bikes can only use the first 0.4 miles of that trail, where the path runs about six feet wide.

New signs aim to reduce trail conflicts

The NPS plans to put up safety signs at the entrances to multi-use trails so hikers, bikers, and horseback riders know what to expect. The Whiskeytown Sign Committee must approve all trail signs before they go up.

Updated trail maps will be available at the visitor center and on the park’s website. Visitors can report trail conditions in person, by phone, or by email.

Whiskeytown sits close to Redding

The recreation area sits just eight miles from Redding, the largest city in the northern Sacramento Valley. Trails wind along historic logging and mining routes south, east, and west of Whiskeytown Lake.

Visitors can hike, ride horses, mountain bike, swim, boat, and fish. An entrance pass is required. Between the lake and the trails, it’s one of Northern California’s most accessible outdoor spots.

Fire recovery work continues alongside new trails

Since the Carr Fire, NPS staff and partners have removed at least 20,000 hazard trees from the recreation area.

Most hiking trails reopened in April 2022, four years after the blaze. The NPS will keep reopening trails as safety and conditions allow.

Trail construction and rerouting under the new plan will happen at the same time as ongoing fire recovery, so visitors should check current conditions before heading out.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• Yosemite workers face pay cuts up to $4 per hour in 2026
• This far-north California seaport is a Victorian time capsule on the bay
• This glittering California beach has a dirty little secret that goes back to 1906