Sierra County, East Sierra Valley Chamber of Commerce

Sierra Valley ~ Sierra County, California

HIstoric hiking railroad trail runs on the old B&L, Boca and Loyalton, Railroad Bed. The Boca and Loyalton Railroad ran this route from 1901 to 1915. ESVCC Chamber Member and mason man,Tony Fender, has been cleaning and pruning this trail for many years. Walk it! Enjoy! ... read more

Enter the trail through a historic, pedestrian or crossing bridge, After crossing the bridge, the trail heads 1 mile north, or 4 miles south. To get there, go up Smithneck Road, off Hwy 49, outside Loyalton, CA to the Loyalton Rotary Park Grounds.

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THE FIRST RAILROAD.. into the area was the Sierra Valleys Railroad. In 1885, the California Land and Timber Company began the Sierra Valley to Mohawk railroad, mainly for delivering goods to and from Reno. This operation came to a halt due to financial reasons. In 1894, Henry Bowen bought the railroad and land, along with Kerby Mill (on Grizzly Creek). Two other nearby railroads, at that time, were already completed and in operation. The Boca and Loyalton, which ran from Boca, near Truckee, to Loyalton. and the NC&O (Nevada, California, and Oregon), which ran north-south along Long Valley and Highway 395 from Oregon to Reno. Bowen sought to link Portola and Sierra Valley to the NC&O and the Boca and Loyalton. Finally. in 1903, the Sierra Valleys Railroad was completed between Hallelujah Junction and Clio. The railroad tracks ran on the north side of the Buttes in Sierra Valley, north of Highway 70 and the Feather River today, through Beckwourth and Portola, with a depot where the Gold Rush Sporting Goods Store is today, continuing westward past Delleker, Clairville, and Clio. The Sierra Valleys Railroad quit running by 1911, due to financial problems. However, by then, the Western Pacific had been completed on the south side of the Feather River, and it became the main railway through the region. In 1910,the area was served by three railroads: the Boca and Loyalton (B&L), the Nevada, California, and Oregon (NC&O), and the Western Pacific.

After the gold rush died Sierra County’s population slowly dwindled to its present 3,300. Other businesses did remain, especially logging and the railroad, and agricultural businesses such as cattle, haying, and cheese making. Today many ranchers remain working the land. But, cheeseparing is a lost art, and logging restrictions have hampered the logging industry and resulted in closed mills. Most of the local rail tracks that once bellowed with steel wheels are no more.

Contact Us:East Sierra Valley Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box 366, Loyalton, CA 96118 | Phone: (530) 993-4686
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