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We've only begun to explore the vast natural wonders surrounding the Yuba River, so it was with great excitement that we took our first trip along the Independence Trail this Memorial Day weekend. I give nothing less than 5 stars for the natural beauty - that is beyond dispute - but there are a couple other factors to consider that keep me from considering this a perfect trail. First off, the wonderful: the trail is about five miles in total and winds through some lush forest (watch out - plenty of poison oak at certain times of year) with two notable picturesque stopping points. One is a series of waterfalls and an impressive system of engineered bridges from which to view them. The other is access to the Yuba itself at the lowest point. This is where we spent the most time, soaking your feet in the cool water, sitting in the soft sand and getting lost staring at the beautiful scenery, from rugged hillsides to crystal clear rushing rapids. It's a perfect time of year to come, both because of the plants in bloom and the weather. Because we went in the direction of the waterfalls first, the toughest part for us was the .4 mile super steep ascent from the Yuba on the tail end, known as the "Jones Bar" trail. This was extremely difficult and should only be done by accomplished hikers. It would be almost as difficult going down, so either way keep that in mind. Unless you want to take the longer Independence trail both ways - almost ten miles - to access the lower river, the Jones Bar trail is a necessity. I'm not sure if it's because this is the time of COVID-19 or if it's because the bridges down to the waterfalls were in bad shape, but they were closed off to the public via some hastily nailed boards over the entrance. This didn't do much to deter visitors, many of whom easily climbed over with children, dogs, strollers and more. I don't blame them for doing so, but unfortunately the ramp is very poorly maintained. I was also initially impressed to see the first identified handicapped-accessible wilderness trail in the nation, which is supposed to allow wheelchair access all the way to the waterfalls. The trail, however, is poorly maintained, and I imagine such a feat in a wheelchair would be close to impossible. Even the BEar-Yuba Land Trust, who are responsible for the trail's maintenance, admit on their site that access is impossible beyond the "decaying wheelchair camping deck" about .1 miles in. I would happily return here again just for the beauty of it all. Yet another reason to consider ourselves lucky to live in this beautiful area!
This is a great hike! Our gps took us some crazy way and we lost time to do both trails. We only did the West trail and that was really nice. The path was really dry and easy to walk. There are a few benches and overlook stops on the way. We got to the picnic bench area and turned around in hopes to get a little bit of the East trail in before we left to have lunch. On the hike back, our hunger and the warmer heat go to us and so we decided to skip the East trail. Sticking to Hwy 49 instead of using gps made getting home a lot easier than driving up. I'll definitely do that when I come back to do the Eastern trail. There are pit toilets at the trailhead. Stinky but there's plenty of tp. The trailhead has parking near it but gets filled up on Saturday afternoons. There is additional parking around the bend right after the trailhead. Just be cautious of traffic speeding around the corners.
Beautiful trails along the Yuba River. Lots of choices to veer off the main trail and explore river access.
I wanted a little time in nature and thought I'd check out this trail highlighting a historical water ditch built by miners in the past. This trail has very unique sections that go above ravines and steep bits of the hill that make it truly unique and something worth checking out. I saw no one else on the trail and had it all to myself. Really nice views down to the Yuba River, and a super easy trail with very little elevation gain. Definitely recommend you check this out if in the area. read more
If you're new to hiking or looking for something that is flat and more of walk then this is your trail. Super easy great views there is even a couple picnic tables along the way so you can stop take a break. Enjoy lunch. Definitely recommend checking it out. also fun fact it's one of the first identified wheelchair accessible wilderness trail in the country read more
4 years ago
Beautiful place, easy hike. You can swim in a clear colorful water and relax in a sand. I recommend this place. The address of this trail is 23402-23692 CA-49 Nevada City, CA 95959 United States and not Grass Valley. read more
We've only begun to explore the vast natural wonders surrounding the Yuba River, so it was with great excitement that we took our first trip along the Independence Trail this Memorial Day weekend. I give nothing less than 5 stars for the natural beauty - that is beyond dispute - but there are a couple other factors to consider that keep me from considering this a perfect trail. First off, the wonderful: the trail is about five miles in total and winds through some lush forest (watch out - plenty of poison oak at certain times of year) with two notable picturesque stopping points. One is a series of waterfalls and an impressive system of engineered bridges from which to view them. The other is access to the Yuba itself at the lowest point. This is where we spent the most time, soaking your feet in the cool water, sitting in the soft sand and getting lost staring at the beautiful scenery, from rugged hillsides to crystal clear rushing rapids. It's a perfect time of year to come, both because of the plants in bloom and the weather. Because we went in the direction of the waterfalls first, the toughest part for us was the .4 mile super steep ascent from the Yuba on the tail end, known as the "Jones Bar" trail. This was extremely difficult and should only be done by accomplished hikers. It would be almost as difficult going down, so either way keep that in mind. Unless you want to take the longer Independence trail both ways - almost ten miles - to access the lower river, the Jones Bar trail is a necessity. I'm not sure if it's because this is the time of COVID-19 or if it's because the bridges down to the waterfalls were in bad shape, but they were closed off to the public via some hastily nailed boards over the entrance. This didn't do much to deter visitors, many of whom easily climbed over with children, dogs, strollers and more. I don't blame them for doing so, but unfortunately the ramp is very poorly maintained. I was also initially impressed to see the first identified handicapped-accessible wilderness trail in the nation, which is supposed to allow wheelchair access all the way to the waterfalls. The trail, however, is poorly maintained, and I imagine such a feat in a wheelchair would be close to impossible. Even the BEar-Yuba Land Trust, who are responsible for the trail's maintenance, admit on their site that access is impossible beyond the "decaying wheelchair camping deck" about .1 miles in. I would happily return here again just for the beauty of it all. Yet another reason to consider ourselves lucky to live in this beautiful area! read more
This is a great hike! Our gps took us some crazy way and we lost time to do both trails. We only did the West trail and that was really nice. The path was really dry and easy to walk. There are a few benches and overlook stops on the way. We got to the picnic bench area and turned around in hopes to get a little bit of the East trail in before we left to have lunch. On the hike back, our hunger and the warmer heat go to us and so we decided to skip the East trail. Sticking to Hwy 49 instead of using gps made getting home a lot easier than driving up. I'll definitely do that when I come back to do the Eastern trail. There are pit toilets at the trailhead. Stinky but there's plenty of tp. The trailhead has parking near it but gets filled up on Saturday afternoons. There is additional parking around the bend right after the trailhead. Just be cautious of traffic speeding around the corners. read more
9 years ago
9 years ago
Fun family hike. We brought our wagon and lunch to eat at the picnic tables. I'm pretty sure we took the east trail as the other one was closed. We walked under the bridge and were met with wonderful scenery. The trail was clean but had a little bit of mud. It had two paths for the most part so you could walk along a raised portion or a lower portion. Both paths were pretty narrow throughout majority of the trail. We were happy we brought the wagon because I don't think that our side by side jogger would have fit and most definitely would have been darn near impossible to pass another stroller. Everyone we encountered were friendly and all the dogs were leashed. Parking is tight but worth checking out. There some pretty cool spots and different buildings to take pics and check out, one had a toilet. We'll definitely be back. My 4 year old wanted to go on a bear hunt but we missed out on bears. read more
11 years ago
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Grass Valley, CA 95945
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