Independence Trail to Rush Creek Falls
After visiting Devil's Falls and Shirttail Fails along tributaries to the American River, we drove north through the foothills to tributaries of the Yuba River. The Yuba and the American are just two of the rivers that drain the Sierra Nevada and flow in to California's enormous Central Valley [Wikipedia link], making it one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. The water ultimately drains through the San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean.
We drove through the gold rush-era towns Grass Valley and Nevada City on our way out to the canyon of the Yuba River and the South Yuba River State Park [link: state park page]. This park is home to a fairly unique trail: a 3.3 mile (5.3 km) wheelchair accessible route known as the South Yuba Independence Trail.
The trail is constructed along the path of a canal that was originally built in the 1850s to bring water for hydraulic mining down from points higher in the mountains. To work as a canal it had to be nearly level. In the picture above, the wide ditch is where the water flowed. The high trail on the side was used by workers and tow mules. In recent years the wide, nearly flat ditch has been reconditioned for wheelchair use.
As the path traverses rough hillsides there are places where the mountains were too steep to build canals. In these places, gold rush era builders contructed wooden flumes. Those fell apart over years of disuse but have recently been rebuilt.
This accessible trail would still be remarkable if all it did was traverse steep hillsides far above the Yuba River. That's pretty much what accessible trails at national parks do, and even they are uncommon. But this one leads to something special. A little over a mile downriver from Highway 49 (the "49'er road" that now connects many of the gold rush era towns in California) lies Rush Creek Falls. An elaborate set of ramps provide access from the main flume down to several viewpoints and the creek level.
Rush Creek drops over several falls in this area. The biggest drop is actually right under the main bridge and is hard to see because of the shape of the canyon and the position of trees growing alongs its walls. (It's challenging to defend the idea, "Chop down those trees so we can enjoy nature more.") But there's a beautiful 20' falls at the back of the canyon.
We drove through the gold rush-era towns Grass Valley and Nevada City on our way out to the canyon of the Yuba River and the South Yuba River State Park [link: state park page]. This park is home to a fairly unique trail: a 3.3 mile (5.3 km) wheelchair accessible route known as the South Yuba Independence Trail.
The trail is constructed along the path of a canal that was originally built in the 1850s to bring water for hydraulic mining down from points higher in the mountains. To work as a canal it had to be nearly level. In the picture above, the wide ditch is where the water flowed. The high trail on the side was used by workers and tow mules. In recent years the wide, nearly flat ditch has been reconditioned for wheelchair use.
As the path traverses rough hillsides there are places where the mountains were too steep to build canals. In these places, gold rush era builders contructed wooden flumes. Those fell apart over years of disuse but have recently been rebuilt.
This accessible trail would still be remarkable if all it did was traverse steep hillsides far above the Yuba River. That's pretty much what accessible trails at national parks do, and even they are uncommon. But this one leads to something special. A little over a mile downriver from Highway 49 (the "49'er road" that now connects many of the gold rush era towns in California) lies Rush Creek Falls. An elaborate set of ramps provide access from the main flume down to several viewpoints and the creek level.
Rush Creek drops over several falls in this area. The biggest drop is actually right under the main bridge and is hard to see because of the shape of the canyon and the position of trees growing alongs its walls. (It's challenging to defend the idea, "Chop down those trees so we can enjoy nature more.") But there's a beautiful 20' falls at the back of the canyon.