DUNSMUIR, Calif. – Union Pacific and the city of Dunsmuir have agreed to a lease that will allow public access to Mossbrae Falls, currently accessible only by trespassing on the railroad’s right-of-way along the Sacramento River.
Dunsmuir’s city council earlier this month approved a lease, effective Jan. 1, 2027, and effective for 75 years, allowing development of a trail along the right-of-way. It will address a long-running issue that saw almost 19,000 people visit the falls via the railroad right-of-way in 2024, according to the city.
The Los Angeles Times reports two people have been struck by trains since 2011, and a woman drowned in the river last year while trying to reach the site. A Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen official told the Times that engineers dread the stretch of track near the falls, saying, “Every single time, it’s a near miss” with trespassers.
A UP spokesman called the agreement “an important step toward creating a safe, legal way” to reach the falls in an email to the Times, adding, “until a formal public access route is complete, we remind visitors to stay off railroad property and never walk on or near the tracks.”
Plans call for a 0.6-mile trail including a pedestrian bridge and additional parking and restroom facilities at the existing Hedge Creek Falls trailhead. The project is expected to cost about $21 million and take five years; the city has applied for a Federal Railroad Administration grant for about 80% and is soliciting donations for its matching funds on its website.
The city will make a one-time payment of $50,000 to the railroad and will be responsible for all costs in developing the trail, with plans to be approved by UP. The city must also meet extensive insurance requirements defined by the railroad.
The proposed trail to Mossbrae Falls. City of Dunsmuir