Sacramento Rail Trail

Shasta Dam--a concrete gravity arch dam--is the second largest dam, in mass, in the United States. The structure is a continuous pour concrete project and was one of the great engineering feats of the world when it was finished in 1945. The dam is 602 feet high, 3,460 feet long, and 543 feet wide at the base. The four rivers that feed the reservoir created by Shasta Dam include the Sacramento, McCloud, Squaw, and Pit rivers. On your way to Shasta Dam you can check out the vista point with a great view of 'The Three Shastas' (Mt. Shasta, Shasta Lake, and Shasta Dam)

Keswick Dam and reservoir are features of the Central Valley Project - Shasta/Tinity River Divisions. The dam creates a 23,800-acre-foot afterbay for Shasta Lake. Keswick Dam has migratory fish-trapping facilities in conjunction with the Coleman Fish Hatchery, 25 miles downstream on Battle Creek. The salmon and steelhead are trapped as they reach the dam, then transported to the fish hatchery for milking. Keswick Reservoir does not have salmon or steelhead; it does have a healthy population of wild trout, including German browns and rainbows. The majority of the fish are native.

However, some of railroad bed was swallowed by Keswick Reservoir. So…expect some hills, dips and curves in the constructed southern section of the trail (dubbed “The Roller Coaster” by local users)