High Desert State Prison Overview
High Desert State Prison, often shortened to HDSP, is operated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation at 475-750 Rice Canyon Road, Susanville, CA 96127. CDCR describes the prison as a Level III and Level IV institution near Susanville in northeastern California, about eight miles east of town and about 1 hour 30 minutes northwest of Reno. It is part of Lassen County's correctional landscape, but it is not run by the Lassen County Sheriff's Office.
The population held at HDSP is different from the population at the Lassen County Adult Detention Facility and the Lassen County Jail Annex. The county jail system covers local arrests, pretrial detainees, and local sentences for state crimes handled through the sheriff and local courts. High Desert State Prison holds sentenced California state prisoners, including Level III and Level IV general population placements, ADA specialized placements, and reentry hub participants. A person transferred to CDCR after sentencing should be searched through CDCR records, not through a county roster.
The CDCR facility page states that construction began on July 14, 1993, with a $240 million budget, and that the first incarcerated people arrived in September 1995. The prison includes an electrified perimeter, a 35-bed Correctional Treatment Center, and a former 200-bed reception center that CDCR says was converted to Level III general population in October 2012. CDCR also notes ACA accreditation since August 2013.
The official CDCR HDSP page is the facility source for address, programs, history, and institutional details.
The screenshot supports the facility-specific details above, while the actual inmate lookup still runs through CDCR CIRIS.
High Desert State Prison Capacity and Population
CDCR population and capacity figures for High Desert State Prison should be read as state-prison figures, not Lassen County jail figures. The CDCR 2025 Master Plan Annual Report table reported HDSP at 2,896 people as of December 31, 2025, against a design capacity of 2,081, or 139.2 percent occupancy. A separate CDCR adult institutions appendix listed design capacity as 2,065 and noted the 2025 deactivation of buildings C2 and C8. Those source differences should stay visible because they come from different CDCR documents.
The county jail's average daily population and booking totals are separate measures. Combining them with HDSP would blur two different custody systems: local detention by the sheriff and sentenced-prison custody by CDCR.
How to Look Up an Inmate at High Desert State Prison
Use CDCR California Incarcerated Records and Information Search, known as CIRIS, for people in High Desert State Prison. CIRIS is the public state-prison search for sentenced CDCR prisoners. It is not a Lassen County jail roster, and it does not locate people held only in the county jail before trial. CDCR's contact information says people needing help accessing or viewing CIRIS can contact the CDCR Identification Unit at (916) 445-6713, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pacific.
- Open CDCR CIRIS and choose the search path that matches the information available.
- Search by CDCR number when known, or use legal name fields such as last name, first name, and middle name.
- Review the result for the person's CDCR custody status and current institution.
- Confirm that the listed facility is High Desert State Prison before using HDSP visiting, mail, or trust-account addresses.
The CDCR CIRIS search page is the correct lookup source for HDSP prisoners.
CIRIS separates state-prison lookup from the county jail phone and sheriff records path, which matters after a local case results in a CDCR transfer.
High Desert State Prison Address and Contact
Use the facility phone for HDSP-specific questions such as local visiting status, mail routing, and institutional information. Use CDCR CIRIS or CDCR Identification Unit assistance for state-prison lookup help. Do not send prison mail to the Lassen County Adult Detention Facility, because the sheriff's jail and High Desert State Prison use different agencies and addresses.
High Desert State Prison
475-750 Rice Canyon Road
Susanville, CA 96127
(530) 251-5100
CDCR state prison facility information
| Purpose | Address or Contact |
|---|---|
| Inmate Mailing | P.O. Box 3030, Susanville, CA 96127-3030 |
| Inmate Trust | P.O. Box 270-249, Susanville, CA 96127 |
| All Staff Mail | P.O. Box 750, Susanville, CA 96127-0750 |
| CIRIS Help | CDCR Identification Unit, (916) 445-6713 |
Visiting Someone at High Desert State Prison
HDSP visits follow CDCR prison rules. CDCR visitation guidance requires adult visitors to complete a visitor pass during each visit with the incarcerated person's name and CDCR number, the relationship, visitor name and address, and a signature. Staff check the incarcerated person's file to confirm visitor approval and eligibility. Visitors and possessions are searched before entry, and processing can be suspended for staffing, emergencies, or institutional operations.
CDCR's arrival guidance cautions that many prisons restrict how early visitors may drive onto prison grounds, often about one hour before visiting begins. CDCR visitor processing normally continues until one hour before the posted visiting end time, but visitors should check the HDSP facility page and CDCR visiting guidance before travel. Where CDCR uses the Visitation Scheduling Application, VSA is a statewide prison scheduling system rather than a county jail scheduler.
| Step | HDSP Visiting Detail | Source Type |
|---|---|---|
| Before scheduling | Confirm the person is at HDSP in CIRIS and that the visitor is approved. | CDCR CIRIS and visitor processing guidance |
| Arrival | Do not arrive earlier than the institution allows; many prisons limit vehicle access before visiting starts. | CDCR arrival guidance |
| Processing | Complete the visitor pass, present identification, and expect file checks and searches. | CDCR visitor processing guidance |
| Scheduling | Use CDCR VSA where applicable for video or scheduled visits. | CDCR VSA guidance |
Mail, Phone, and Money at High Desert State Prison
HDSP mail and trust-account routing comes from CDCR, not from the Lassen County jail. Inmate mail should use the CDCR inmate mailing box for HDSP and include the incarcerated person's name and CDCR number as required by CDCR practice. Trust-account mail uses a separate CDCR box. Family and friends should check CDCR resources before sending packages or funds because prison support rules can differ from county jail commissary rules.
| Service | Provider / Detail |
|---|---|
| Mail Address | Inmate name and CDCR number, P.O. Box 3030, Susanville, CA 96127-3030 |
| Phone / Video | Use CDCR statewide prison family and visiting resources; VSA applies where available. |
| Money Deposit | Use CDCR family and friends resources and HDSP Inmate Trust, P.O. Box 270-249, Susanville, CA 96127, when mail routing is required. |
Reception, Classification, and Transfers at High Desert State Prison
High Desert State Prison does not use the county jail booking process for new street arrests. A person arrested in Lassen County may first go through the sheriff-operated jail, the court process, and any sentencing or transfer decision. Once a person is in CDCR custody, CDCR classification and institution assignment control the prison location. The county jail phone may no longer be the right place for current location after transfer, even if the original arrest occurred in Lassen County.
CDCR describes HDSP as having Level III and Level IV facilities, ADA specialized designations, Developmental Disability Program and mental-health care designations, kidney dialysis, a Correctional Treatment Center, and reentry hub programming. Those features explain why HDSP may hold people based on security, treatment, accessibility, and program needs, not simply because they were arrested nearby.
About High Desert State Prison
HDSP is one reason Lassen County's inmate population discussion must separate local custody from physical location. A person can be physically incarcerated in Lassen County at High Desert State Prison while not being in Lassen County Sheriff's Office custody. CDCR's facility details also give the prison a distinct local profile: the agency reports that construction used 71,985 yards of concrete, 20,000 tons of steel, 364 miles of electrical wire, and 7 miles of chain link fencing. The prison was named High Desert State Prison by the Lassen County Board of Supervisors.
Programs listed in the research include CTE Computer Literacy on all four yards; Building Maintenance, Auto Body/Paint, and Electronics on B Yard; Building Maintenance on C Yard; Adult Basic Education, GED, high school, college, transitions, law and reading libraries, recreation, media center, DPP, and a Reentry Hub. Additional programs include faith-based groups, AA, NA, Al-Anon, Criminals and Gangs Anonymous, Getting Out By Going In, juvenile diversion, veterans group, House of Healing, Positive Parenting, Victims Impact, Arts in Corrections, Lifers Group, Alternatives to Violence, Cage Your Rage, and Fatherless Fathers.
Recent CDCR research notes identify Kimberly Thornton as acting warden at HDSP since August 2025, and CDCR's 2025 reporting gives the year-end population and occupancy figures cited above.
Note: Confirm the person's CDCR location and current visiting status with CDCR before traveling to HDSP.
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