South Yuba River is a welcome place for us. It’s a great start point for our long weekend plans. In three years we stopped at three different sections of the park, and it never disappointed us.
The park is the composition of several parts mostly situated near river crossing. Here I will show you three sections we visited

Edward’s Crossing

On the latest visit, I had a plan to visit Kennebec Creek Falls. You will not find it on the park map. The falls could be reached from the day use parking area at South Yuba Camp via the trail that leads down to the river. The path is 1.3 miles and relatively moderate. The trail ends on the rocky beach of the South Yuba River. From there you will need to follow the stream for a bit. Though you will get a glimpse of it from the river bank, to get closer, you will need to scramble up to the hill. The hill is grown with bushes and moss, and you need to be careful because it could be unstable or slippery.
Eugene managed to go down to the waterfall base. I decided it’s safer to stay on the hill. The ground was soft, and the tripod plowed to the ground.
The was no significant rain for a long period but falls looked great.

On the way back we explored the river. The pebble bottom of it looked fascinating under the turquoise water.
We started the hike before the lunch, the day was sunny. So when we returned from the waterfall the fog rolling over the river became was a surprise.
But it was a nice surprise, the river looked picturesque.

The trail we hiked follows the Kennebeck Creek and has few small bridges over it. The trailhead could be reached from two directions. We drove from Nevada City, crossed the amazing Edwards Crossing bridge and drove few miles on dirt road to the day use parking lot.

The Edward Crossing – I mean the bridge over the river – is another excellent place in the park. The tall green bridge looks old, but it’s safe to drive over it. Right near the parking lot, there is a small waterfall without the name.
If you walk over the bridge, you get the fantastic view of the South Yuba River. The fog caught us there, and the river became mystique.

Independence Trail

A few years ago we drove to Lost Sierra on Gold Chain Highway – Highway 49. It was the beginning of the Winter and trees were already naked completely. There are a few trails that start near the Hwy 49 crossing. One of them is Independence Trail.
The trail is the first identified handicapped-accessible wilderness trail. The part of the trail – west part – contains several wooden flumes that lead to the viewpoint and waterfall. Must see the mining history and interesting easy trail caught me by surprise with all beauty it offers.

The next time we visit the place was last November. The late fall still had the golden leaves over the hills and trees. It was very charming.
The 49 Highway Crossing has a great concrete bridge over the river. The views here are lovely and deserve the stop in any season.

Bridgeport Covered Bridge

It was wet winder of 1861-1862. By the end of the January of 1862, most of the bridges over South Yuba River were washed await.
These events became the starting point of the construction of the longest (229 feet) single span bridge in the world.
Though now closed even for the pedestrian traffic, the bridge is marvelous!