Merrill Campground, Eagle Lake, Susanville, CA

 

Our drive from Washoe Lake to Susanville, CA along Hwy 395 was uneventful. Between the two of us we probably checked at least five or six times to make sure the car was hooked up properly. This being new territory for us we weren’t sure what to expect, but traffic was not bad going through Reno, and it was very light the rest of the 135 miles.

We decided to check out Susanville but there is only one RV park in town which we didn’t want to stay at, so we drove another 15 miles northwest on the long and winding road to Eagle Lake in the Lassen National Forest. There are several campgrounds that just opened for the season on the 16th, and we picked Merrill because some of the sites have hookups and the weather for the weekend wasn’t looking good. Our site has water and electric, but there are some really nice non-hookup sites closer to the lake, and full hookups sites farther back. We’re paying $20/night with Jim’s senior pass. It’s $30 without the discount. It’s a nice campground at this time of year since there is hardly anyone here, but I wouldn’t want to be here when it was full.

We have a limited lake view through the trees.

The day we arrived we rode the five mile paved bike path that connects the campgrounds and goes to the marina/boat launch area. It’s a very pleasant ride and mostly level.

The lake level is quite low as this used to be a break wall.

Wonder how many years it’s been since this boat ramp was actually used.

We found this building near the marina.

     

Yesterday we took the bikes to Susanville for a ride on the 25 mile Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail. We started downtown at the Susanville Depot and rode 6.5 miles west through the lovely Susan River Canyon.

Going west the dirt/gravel trail is a gradual uphill the entire way, plus we had a strong westerly headwind, so it was a real struggle to make much distance.

But the scenery was beautiful so we stopped frequently for photos, crossing numerous trestles and bridges over the river.

There were two tunnels to go through, and we wished we’d had headlamps, since they were really dark in the middle.

It was much better after we turned back, all downhill and a tailwind, which is why people take a shuttle to the other end at Westwood for a 25 mile downhill ride. It was still an enjoyable ride, although our butts were feeling it having ridden the day before. Jim is back to wanting to trade in his mountain bike for a recumbent.

Since the depot was just a couple blocks from Lassen Ale Works, of course had to stop and try their beer. The Devil’s Corral Imperial Stout and the Belgian Style XXX Tripel were excellent.

After two very nice days in the 70s we were under a winter weather advisory last night, with snow predicted for over 5,000’.  Merrill Campground happens to be at 5,300’, so this morning we woke up to this.

It’s snowing again as I write this, but our high is projected to be 41 today so it will most likely melt. Looks like a good day for some indoor projects. We’ll be here until Sunday when we head to Redding for some Lazy Daze maintenance. Hope we won’t have to shovel our way out.