Less then a 5 min walk down to one of northern Californias best swimming holes! Pet friendly, but bring your own shade as there isnt much during the peak of the day. read more

Ponderosa Way Bridge - Water was clear and perfect temp on a hot day. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Colfax, California

This is a world-class hike! It has all of the things to make a hike fun, adventurous, and magical. First of all, it's kind of out-of-the-way so that makes it extra interesting, exciting, and enjoyable. There' were tons of wildflowers right along the river, and by the trail. The hike to Codfish Falls is leveled. It's such a pleasant and easy day hike, even with young kids. There's a gorgeous meadow with a nearby river where you can have a picnic or take a nap. There's an amazing payoff at the end of the hike, the beautiful Codfish Waterfalls. There were only 10 to 13 parking spots which are free. A big RV or trucks will take more spaces. Watch out for poison oaks. There are many along the hiking trail. Highly recommended it to you all. read more

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Great recreational spot. First went there in the 70's and look for an excuse to always go back and I live 2 hours away. Deep waters and great diving, jumping and swinging from the bridge. And no it isn't haunted read more

I love swimming and sunning. I am obsessed with finding swimming holes in my area and this is a good one! Living in NorCal, there are numerous swimming holes to choose from, and this is one! The only drawback is that you are driving five miles in a one lane dirt road. I wouldn't suggest you drive here in anything other than a 4WD, but people do it, and I don't recommend it. Although the five miles can be long especially on a windy, bumpy road...this swimming hole is well worth the drive! It's perfect! Not as crowded as some of your other swimming holes and clean port a potties! People are really respectful and not much riff-raff. I say this because one of our favorite swimming holes has become quite popular and in my recent trips, we noticed so much trash and people disrespecting the rules. People!! Pick up after yourselves! This place isn't as crowded and we didn't see any broken glass or trash being left behind. The water is just as inviting as our favorite hole and the water is just as refreshing. The water was calm and there's a lot of sandy beach areas. I'll come back again next year! read more

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Cool spot to swim make sure to bring food and snacks , umbrella or canopy for sun ,you always stay longer than expected a lot of sunscreen and don't forget to take your trash, if you want spot under bridge that has shade and paved by water get there early read more

Awesome bridge at the bottom of Ponderosa Way from Weimar. You have to go down a very rocky, narrow non paved road to get to the bridge. I did it on my cross bike and it was a harrowing descent down to the bottom. Many rocks and washed out road sections to get to the bottom. When you get there, you are rewarded with this gorgeous bridge. Take a picture as then it's a long ride back up to the top! read more

Ponderosa Way Bridge - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Colfax, California

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I absolutely love coming to this place. Ever since I found out about this place a few months ago, I just can't stop coming here. First of all when you try to get to this place, Google Maps will lead you to a place where the road kind of ends. And when I mean that the road will and I'm talking about the paved Road will end. This is not mean that you stop driving, you have to start driving onto the unpaved portion of the trail which will lead you all the way down to the bridge. I must warn everyone that when they come here, please be prepared to drive on some really bumpy Terrain. I drive a crossover vehicle and even with my vehicle I kind of had to take it just a little bit slow so that way I don't damage my undercarriage on my vehicle. Surprisingly, I see some regular Passenger cars that drive onto this road. It makes me wonder how the heck do these vehicles even make it out onto this road! Also, this road is a shared road so I highly advise everyone to be aware of what's in front of them and to share the road with everyone who uses it. Once you get down to the very end of the road you will reach the bridge. This is where you can park your vehicle, keep in mind that there is absolutely no parking on the side of the road except for when you reach the bridge because as I said earlier the road is very narrow and it is shared with oncoming traffic. Once you reach the bridge, you will find that there is a pay station although at this time I think that it is not applicable because there are no more envelopes in there. Also, there are two porta-potties and there is a lockable trash can for dumping your trash into there. The bridge itself can support vehicles including large vans. I just saw one van drive across it today. I do not know where the other side of the road goes but I believe it's farther inland. There is a painted sign on the bridge says no diving off of the bridge. This is probably due to the fact that the floor of the river is quite shallow from the surface or the river so if you want to dive off of it you can potentially hit your head. Quite often you can see River rafts and kayaks come through this River. There's also a Trail off to the side which you can hyconn and it will take you about 30 to 45 minutes if you are walking to reach the waterfall area. There was also some turn offs from the main path which can lead you to the River Bar and there is another turn off which is very technical but if you can do it you can scale up the side of a mountain to get to a secret spot to take selfies at but keep in mind you are on your own and if you hurt yourself that is just too bad. I get this place of Solid 5 stars! If you like to come and get away from the noisy City and get some peace in mind being out in nature than this is the place to hit up. read more

Ponderosa Way Bridge - Secret selfie spot - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Colfax, California

I'm glad we came in a SUV, because it was a bumpy ride. I wouldn't want to drive there myself on the narrow and steep road. I'm nervous when it comes to driving on bridges as well. There's parking right before the bridge, so we went over it and back for nothing. A sign stated there's a $10 entrance fee but there was nobody collecting money. The Codfish Creek Falls Discovery Trail is easy to navigate for a beginner hiker. It's 2.4 miles roundtrip. The American River was to the left of us as we hiked up. The trail is narrow with lots of trees providing shade. There was a porta-potty along the way, but I would never think of using it. The trail leads you to a waterfall at the end. The waterfall was weak though, since we went in January and there hasn't been much rainfall. Luckily, none of us saw any poison oak. read more

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This is a year round GEM! Up until last weekend, my experience with this place had been going out here almost every weekend in the summer (when I wasn't knocked up that is). Amazing swimming location with rocks to jump off of, an "island" in the middle of the river to set up your easy up and chairs, and a nice slow flow to the river so little ones are ok to swim. (But no lifeguard available, so just keep that in mind if you do let your kids swim). By far my favorite river locale in Sacramento to hang out at. I had always seen the beginning of the hiking trail, but until last weekend had never tried it. It is a mostly flat, 1.7 mile (each way) hike to a waterfall that was RAGING when we visited last weekend after all of our recent rain! The kids had a blast - my two preschoolers did it in about 3 hours, including the time spent hanging out at the waterfall. Our littlest hikers - 2 and 9 months - conked out about halfway through, so if your babies are small bring a good child carrier backpack! There are porta potties at the head of the trail, as is the ranger "station" in the summer time. Parking is $10 per day, although when we went last weekend the box for dropping day fees was gone. In the summer however, the rangers are out all day, especially on the weekends. read more

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The ride down and up is not for the faint hearted and you do need all wheel drive and a high bed car. The ride is well worth the amazing scenery that greets you. The bridge, water, rocks and it's waiting for very very few people. When we went there were maybe 2 other families. So bring lunch and drinks so you can have a leisurely few hours. read more

Hey everybody -- I can show all of you an easy way to save $10. Simply park in Applegate and take the "Codfish Falls Trail Extension". Take the Applegate Exit, and then turn right toward Applegate Road, then turn left. Turn right on Boole Road, and go approximately 1.5 miles to Cerro Vista Drive, bearing left. After climbing up a steep hill for 1/4 mile you will see a large parking area, which is one of the trail heads. From there, its a little more complicated -- I know the secret entrance to the Codfish Falls trail extension. Its about 3.6 miles each way to Codfish Falls. Moderate difficulty, but you have breathtaking views and you don't have to deal with treacherous & dusty Ponderosa Road with all those dangerous switchbacks....and best of all you can spend the $10 entrance fee you saved on snacks & bottled water! read more

Went to the wrong ponderosa way bridge, please be careful of your directions as these pictures interpreted a bridge in Weimar by google maps gave us a bridge in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Please don't drive a regular car down this road. My 94' Toyota Corolla sounded like it was being ripped apart every time we hit a bump or ran over the bushes in the middle of the path. Had 2 mental breakdowns on the way down and back up, make sure you go to the right one!!!! read more

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Beware the road getting down has heavily eroded from last time I was here 2016. Before you could take a regular csr down there now you need 4wd. Lots of huge holes and missing chunks of the road. read more

A nice place to go too, water was nice and clean the road was a little rough but all in all it was a nice and clean place to go too

Super awesome spot! It's kinda confusing to get to though! You have to make sure you get the right directions. Other wise it can take you forever to get there! Jumping off the bridge is fun, so is the rope swing when it's up. Some days, it is not kid friendly. Lots of drinkers and smokers. Also, MUST HAVE AN SUV to get to the bridge. Took my Prius one time and it was terrible. Couldn't get down there. Fun hangout though! read more

We were looking for a little adventure and some peace and quiet this did not disappoint. There should be a sign letting people know high clearance vehicles are suggested. I don't see how some people who went down this road with regular cars made it down without damaging their car or getting stuck. A slow descent was rewarded with a cool bridge and access to the river. The dog could not get to the water fast enough. I suppose this place could get busy on the weekends but we had the place to ourselves until a couple of locals arrived. Next time we'll pack a lunch. read more

Absolutely love this place!! Crystal clear water with lots of places to jump in at different levels. Plenty of shallow areas for kids. I recommend wearing swim shoes to walk across the rocks. I put life vests on my kids and just let them swim all over....they loved it!! It is pretty remote and a little difficult to get to but I was in a Fusion....lots of dust and dirt on the way down...but was totally worth it!! Can't wait for summer so we can visit again! FYI....go prepared because its not easy to come and go and I had no cell phone service either. There are security there to watch everyone. No glass containers allowed. read more

I came here for the Codfish Creek Falls hike that I found online. I was surprised to find out that there is a $10 fee to enter the area. I was not at all excited about that. The drive down to the bridge (which is where the trail-head is located) was a long and bumpy dirt road that was an interesting ride. Once you get to the bottom, it's beautiful. The water is so clear, there are small patches of sandy beaches, and portable toilets. We hiked to the falls and it was fantastic. 1.4 miles to the falls and 1.4 miles back. We brought our dog which is allowed. There were portable toilets all along the trail although I don't know if anybody actually uses them. The trail was nice and shaded most of the way. The falls were great as well. A great place to have a picnic and there was a strenuous trail to get to the top of the falls if you feel like climbing a bit. It was a great time. read more

Ponderosa Bridge is my favorite place to go swimming in the summer. It is true that they started charging $10 to drive onto the dirt road going down to the river. But you come after 5pm the rangers are no longer there. read more

I came here on 7-3-11. Effective this year the state is stationing rangers to collect a $10 entrance fee at the beginning of Ponderosa Way. This wasn't noted anywhere so we had to drive back about 10 minutes to a little store that let us get cash - he said we were their third one that day and that this was the first year the state was charging at this access point. The drive down Ponderosa Way was pretty bumpy and steep at a few places, but my wimp meter is pretty pathetic so it probably wouldn't bother anyone else. :) Please take caution as there are many idiots that drive this road much faster than they should - pay attention especially around blind corners. If 2 vehicles are passing on the road at once it can be a tight squeeze. Common courtesy helps here. There were many regular cars (camrys, corollas, accords, etc) that made it down this road okay but a truck would be your best bet. Parking is just before the Ponderosa Bridge, lots of photo ops along the way. There is a small box near the beginning of the Codfish Creek Falls Trail with maps of the trail and the area - you can print these offline ahead of time if you think you need one but this trail is very clearly marked. The trail parallels the North Fork of the American River for probably the first mile or so - which was flowing fast and pretty cold. There are several places to get off the trail and hang out by the river. We went straight to the falls - super pretty 40-50ft. falls! You can hike up to almost halfway up the falls - go around the rocks on the right - it isn't as slippery as the left side. There is also a steep trail about a minute before the falls where you can hike up and actually get to the top of the falls for a pretty awesome view. You can also hike down past the bottom of the falls for some really pretty little pools where your kids or dogs can hang out and play in the water. There were TONS of butterflies and frogs right by the falls. There were a lot of people floating down the river in tubes and a bunch of people hanging out near the bridge when we returned from the hike. Seems like a pretty neat place to hang out. We passed several commercial rafting trip vans on the way back up Ponderosa Way, I'd imagine they were picking up rafters but haven't looked into it yet. Also worth mentioning is the few portable restrooms located along the trails for those that need it. Poison oak was plentiful along the side of the trail. Easy, well maintained hike. Take water and sunscreen. read more

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Like the previous review said, they are charging $10 now, and it is a VERY bumpy ride in and out, steep but we made it in my corolla just fine. The road is very narrow so its a little scary when someone wants to pass. Lucky for us we didnt have to do that till the way out. The trail is very narrow, we had our daughter and dog with us, so it made it quite interesting. We saw a couple of lizards on the trail too. We only made it about a mile in as it was HOT today and our dog had had enough. So we turned around from there and headed back, she enjoyed the water once we got back to the beachy area! I would like to do this hike again maybe in the fall when the temp is cooler and we can make it all the way in to the falls. Beware there is poison oak on the trail too. We didnt get any, but were warned by some fellow hikers. Thank you!! read more

I used to come to "Pondo" over ten years ago back around 2002ish and years after.... Back then, they didn't charge and the place was loaded with young people (from 18-35) in the summer months. I remember being the best place to swim, meet people, drink, BBQ, etc. Except for an occasional Placer Sheriff helicopter coming down low and yelling at us for jumping off the bridge, no one really cared what went on down there, thus the summer ragers... There was one time and some guy lit off a real stick of dynamite up the canyon.. Pretty much cleared the place out. Ah, the good old days. Not the same any more. Used to be the badass, secret, party/swim spot. I went recently to check it out for old times sake as I recently moved back to Auburn, and all I saw was a few middle aged/older people and some kids. Can anyone else say if this is always the case nowadays, or not? Considering the weather has been warm, I'm surprised it was so lame. Really don't want to take another drive down the hill to find the same thing... Some might find it a great spot, it's still beautiful, and quieter now, but not for what I'm looking for.... read more