Tucked away in Northern California is a land of abundant lakes and rivers, soaring peaks, and few people. In the coming years, it will be home to the Lost Sierra Route, a 600-mile multi-use trail connecting small mountain towns in the area known as the Lost Sierra.
Imagine backpacking town-to-town, stopping every few days for resupplies, a bed for the night, or a restaurant meal. No hitchhiking or calling for a shuttle because you’ll walk right through the towns.
“Resupply will be easy,” says Trinity Stirling, former Connected Communities Project Coordinator for the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship. Most towns will have lodging, resupply opportunities, and a restaurant.
The idea for the trail began with the stewardship, a nonprofit group started in Downieville in 2003 by Greg Williams, now the group’s executive director. Since then the stewardship has built or is maintaining 255 miles of trails in Plumas and Sierra Counties, and in Plumas, Lassen, and Tahoe National Forests.
“Our mission is building sustainable recreation-based communities through stewardship, job creation and world-class events,” the stewardship says on its website. “Providing quality outdoor experiences through trail construction and maintenance in the Lost Sierra.”
In 2017 some of the towns asked how people from outside the Lost Sierra could be drawn to the region’s trails, increasing tourism in an effort to fill economic gaps left by mine closures and the dwindling forest industry
Downieville—home to the Downieville Classic–was already a mountain biking mecca, and there was hope of spreading that attraction throughout the Lost Sierra.
And so the Lost Sierra Route and the Connected Communities project were born, with the 15 towns brought on board. It will be what the stewardship calls a Trail for Everyone: 600 miles of single track for backpackers, day hikers, mountain and moto bikers, horse riders, hunters, and anglers spread across Plumas, Sierra, Butte, and Lassen Counties. Although that seems like a lot of uses for a single-track trail, the area the route covers is spread out enough so there should not be crowding on the trail, Trinity says.
It will be possible to hike the route in a loop, weaving through towns along the way and getting a regional passport stamped at each town visited.
A GIS route has been laid out and the Forest Service will be consulted to ensure the path does not go through environmentally sensitive areas.
The first section of the trail—30 miles from Quincy to Taylorsville—is expected to be completed by 2025, with completion of the entire trail expected by 2030. Most of the trail will be new construction, but some of the route will be along reclaimed mining and logging roads through the mountains known as the Sierra Buttes.
Professional trail crews, joined by volunteers, are constructing the route.
The route will connect Truckee, Loyalton, Sierraville, Sierra City, Downieville, Quincy, Graeagle, Portola, Taylorsville, Greenville, Jonesville, Chester, Westwood, and Susanville, as well as Reno, Nevada.
Camping will be available at Forest Service and county campgrounds, with dispersed camping throughout the national forests.
The stewardship will have an online trip planning guide, with information on town services and camping.
The Lost Sierra has historic ties to the Gold Rush in Northern California, and was the name of a mail route between mining towns. The designation has survived for what some consider a forgotten region of California.
The small towns that will be connected by the route have been through some tough times. The 2008 recession hit hard; businesses were boarded up, residents moved away. Wildfires are especially devastating, and in August 2021 downtown Greenville was destroyed by the Dixie Fire.
“We do see this project will help recovery after wildfires,” Trinity says.
The stewardship has become a major employer, with 58 workers in 2021. Local youth are employed during the summer.
A 2018 economic impact report counted 46 employees with a payroll of $856,000 and gross income of $2 million.
The Lost Sierra Route will pass through towns such as Quincy, with its historic buildings and vivid fall colors. Photo by Patrick Cavender
The stewardship raises money through corporate sponsors, private donations, and fundraisers such as the Downieville Classic.
Trinity is living the rebirth of the Lost Sierra. She left for college during the recession and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, but on visits home she noticed that young people were moving into the area. So she and her husband decided it was time to return home for good.
She eventually landed at the stewardship and now is overseeing the effort to make the trail an economic boon for the 15 towns.
“It’s been a tough few years but we’re a hardy people,” she says.
Featured photo by Ken Etzel.
