Work on the Almanor Rail Trail Project continues to move forward. Over the past few years, two Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) Grants have funded the required Due Diligence work necessary to prepare the trail for improvements (see details below).

We are most excited to report that CalTrans will be constructing the Lake Almanor West leg of the Regional Trail Plan when the Hwy 89 repaving project is constructed.  This 3.8 mile segment of the trail will start with a Trailhead just beyond the northwest end of the Lake Almanor Recreation Trail and continue along the shoreline adjacent to Hwy 89 where the Diversion Channel flows into the lake. 

The first SNC grant funded all required Due Diligence tasks, including Title Reports; Survey/Zone Analysis; Hazardous Site Assessments, CEQA Due Diligence; a structural evaluation of the Feather River Rail Bridge; an Environmental Assessment, and a Native American Tribal Consultation.

The second SNC grant is funding all the Due Diligence and CEQA requirements for the entire 12.8 miles of the proposed trail. There remain several procedures needing clarification toward finalizing the Donation Agreement with Collins Pine Company (CPC) and Almanor Recreation and Park District. Once these issues are resolved, ARPD will move forward to identify funding for Trail Improvements.

The support of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy has made it possible for ARPD to continue the ongoing work on this exciting project. We continue to deal with several challenges. The impact of the Dixie Fire on CPC staff's time resulted in considerable slowdowns. Not only did CPC sustain forest damage around the Chester area from the Dixie Fire, but their forest lands around Klamath Falls sustained damage from another recent fire and both required immediate attention from Chester management. Additionally, there are two areas on the trail with specific challenges that we continue to work to resolve.

IF you are interested in further information about this exciting project, click on the link to Trails Around the Lake Project.  A download to the complete Master Plan is available there.