At its May 21 meeting, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution supporting the designation of the
Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail as part of the U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS).
Cal-Trans and representatives from Adventure Cycling Association reached out to the
Department of Regional Parks to request that the Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail be included in the pilot route for the California USBRS designation, as part of USBR 50.
“We are thrilled that our world-renowned trail is going to be included in the pilot route for the California USBRS designation,” said Liz Bellas, Director of Regional Parks. “We’re hopeful that this designation will increase awareness of our trail from both local residents and experienced, long-distance riders from across the country.”
Currently, USBR 50 traverses the states of Utah and Nevada, with the connection point to California starting at South Lake Tahoe. The proposed route heads west from Tahoe through Sacramento and ultimately connects to the North Bay Area.
The USBRS started in 1982 with two routes established, USBR 1 in Virginia and North Carolina and USBR76 in Virginia, Kentucky and Illinois. These routes were approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), a nonprofit, nonpartisan association representing transportation departments in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
In an effort to establish an official national network of bicycle routes across the United States, AASHTO and Adventure Cycling Association have designated of 13,000 miles of trails as part of the USBRS.
