About cycling & running in ReddingRedding Base Miles
Running: Redding runners get a lot done from the river out to the foothills. The Sacramento River Rail Trail runs 19 miles from the Sundial Bridge to Shasta Dam, and the surface is fast when you want Z2 or steady intervals. Churn Creek Trails give locals shade in summer and bright green miles in spring. Hornbeck Trail feels like clean singletrack with big views. Shasta Bally is the hard climb when legs need a real test. SWEAT Running Club keeps the scene moving, and The Jackalope Lope, Signarama Firecracker 5K, Moonlight Madness, and 12K's of Christmas anchor the calendar.
Cycling: Redding riders have easy dirt, road, and gravel right from town. Shasta Wheelmen runs frequent no-drop rides with a variety of difficulty, and Redding Trail Alliance is the local name for learning the trails. Mule Ridge and Swasey Recreation Area bring the off-road adrenaline. The Sacramento River National Recreation Trail gives locals 17 miles of smooth pavement for base miles. Lower Gas Point makes a 9-mile loop that is almost entirely dirt. The climbs sit in the Cascade foothills and the mountains north, east, and west, with Shasta Bally, Road 4, Muletown Meander, and the D1 Shasta Dam route doing the work.
Season: Redding trains best from October through April when the air feels easier and the hills stay useful. May through September gets hot and dry, and July usually puts the daily high near 36°C. Locals ride and run early because the lack of humidity helps you escape it in the morning. The city sits at 183 m, so winter is cool and wet more than frozen. Snow happens sometimes, but most years it does not stick around long. Runners keep using the river paths between storms, and riders still hit the clay and rock trails when the wet season lands.
