Hiking Trails and Other Stuff To Do

Azalea Canyon 

Directions

• Take Emigrant Gap Road/Texas Hill Road to Onion Valley
• Turn left at Forest Road 45 and then right on Forest Road 45-2
• Drive to the end of the road and park
• Hike toward the Bradley & Gardner Ditch, or Placer County Canal. From there you can see the Monuments in Monumental Canyon. 
• Follow it in and out of Monumental Canyon until you reach the East Fork of the North Fork, and in another mile, the "take," where a small dam once diverted the East Fork into the Canal. (Note:  There is a boiler to a lost locomotive there). You should see Azaleas growing there. 

“The East Fork of the North Fork of the North Fork of the American River might better be named Azalea Canyon, for the Western Azalea, a species of rhododendron, is in full bloom along the banks of the creek, the large and graceful white flowers sweetly scenting the air. This shrub seems especially common there.”

Back Side of Lake Valley Reservoir 

Directions:

• Take I-80 east to the Yuba Gap Exit
• Turn right, then right again and head toward the lake
• Turn left at the lake - but instead on going right to the parking area, keep driving up the dirt and gravel road for about 3 miles until you see a green ranch gate.  That is the beginning of the trail

Follow the trail as far and you want around the lake.  The trail is not well marked, so if you begin to get lost, head down to the lake and walk along the shore.  The lake is pretty long so your choices are to drop a car near the lodgepole campground or retrace your path back to the original starting point.  Along the hike you may see the nesting eagles (they are near the shore of the lake) and you may see some old logging equipment (BIG GEARS on a old steam donkey).  If you decide to hike all the way to Lodge Pole, you will be crossing through the Sky Mountain Summer Camp.  

Carr Lake, Feely Lake, Island Lake

Directions:

• Take I-80 east
• Take Hwy 20 cutoff headed west for approximately 5 miles. 
• Turn right on Bowman Lake Road (Forest Road 18). Stay on that road for approximately 6 miles (go past Fuller and Rucker lake and see the sign for Lindsey/Carr/Feely lakes)
• Turn right on Forest Road 17. Stay to the right for 4 miles. NOTE:  Road is an unimproved dirt road until reaching the parking area for the lake.  The last 1/8 of a mile right before the parking lot gets really bumpy so high clearance recommended - or drive very slow)
• The trail is to the left of the parking lot - by the camping area.  

So far we have hiked Carr and Feely but Island Lake (which is not dammed) is supposed to be the prettiest of the 3.  If you want to make a day of it, continue hiking up to Round Lake.  

Along the Train Line - Emigrant Gap to Blue Canyon

Take a day hike from Emigrant Gap to Blue Canyon along the train tracks (be careful not to hike on the tracks whenever possible).  This hike will take you past some really nice back country without having a steep grade.  However you will be hiking on gravel. It is really nice to see where the train goes to/comes from.  

Lover's Leap 

If you are afraid of heights (cliffs) this is not the hike for you.  Lover's leap is a hike to a view spot that overlooks the American Canyon Gorge.  

Directions:

• From the lodge, take I-80 West
• Get off at Dutch Flat
• Go over freeway and take a right and follow Canyon Creek Rd
• Take a left at Moody Ridge Road 
• When Moody Ridge goes left and right, go right
• At Intersection for Lovers Leap Road take a right
• Follow Lovers Leap Road until the end and park and hike back to Lovers leap 

Placer Big Trees (Day Trip) 

Directions

• Take I-80 West toward Auburn (about 30 minutes) 
• Take the Foresthill road exit and 17 miles to the town of Foresthill. 
• There turn right onto Mosquito Road and follow it for another 28 miles to Forest road 16.
•  Turn right onto Forest road 16 and right again following the road for 0.7 miles to the parking area.

Placer Big Trees Grove is the most northerly stand of naturally occurring Giant Sequoias. The grove is located 23 miles east of Foresthill overlooking the Middle Fork American River. The area has been designated as a Botanical Special Interest Area by the Forest Service. The trees have been a popular tourist attraction since the 1800’s and each bears the name of a prominent individual from presidents to generals to local politicians. A nature trail and picnic area offer visitors a nice lunch or rest stop.

Summit Train Tunnels (Day Trip)

Directions

• Take I-80 East toward Truckee
• Take the Soda Springs Exit and head toward Sugar Bowl Ski area (Old Highway 40)
• Go past Sugar Bowl and park in the dirt lot across from the Donner Ski Ranch Ski area.  You should see the opening to the first tunnel from the dirt parking lot. 
• NOTE:  There is a no trespassing sign - but we do not pay attention to that (actually no one does).  There are no restrooms at the tunnels, so hopefully you went before you parked

Bring the headlamps, flashlights and warm clothing for this trip.  Also your camera because there are spectacular views of Donner Lake as you exit tunnel 3 (or 2 - I always forget until we get there).  This is a very fun hike for kids and is mostly fairly level.  If you visit in a big water year, you will see "waterfalls" of melting snow water seeping through the holes in the roofs of the tunnels.  We have only hiked as far as the view  tunnel (since we always have someone who needs to go back for bathroom purposes).  I think you could hike quite a bit further though.  Once you complete tunnel 1 (I think) you will see a big granite manmade wall to the left of the trail.  Below you is the China Wall, which is pretty amazing build - all the granite boulders in the China wall were handcut and placed by Chinese workers on the Railroad.   

You can tell the kids that workers actually slept and ate in the tunnels during the winter while construction was going on.  Also there used to be a restaurant cut into one of the tunnels.  There is a wide opening on the left side of tunnel 3 for you to go out of and look down at Donner Lake.  This is a view of views.  

If you have time, continue driving down highway 40 toward Donner Lake the Rainbow Bridge and to the Petrogliph area.  Or, if you are heading back to the lodge, stop by the Donner Summit Museum (in the town of Soda Springs at the Old Soda Springs Hotel) and talk with Norm.  Norm was one of the carriers of the Olympic Torch for the 1960 Winter Games.  He knows just about everything there is to know about the Summit! 

Lock Leven Lake

• Take I-80 west to the Big Bend Exit and head past the Ranger Station (east).  There is a parking area on the left side of the road with a restroom.  Park there.
• Cross the road and follow the well heeled trail up to the lake (3.6 miles) - this is a climber so if you don't have good stamina - forget this one.  If you do, it is well worth the hike
• You will cross the railroad tracks as part of the hike (at 1.1 mile marker). 
• If you are a great hiker, go about 2.5 miles further to the second lake.

Per Uncle Jim and Katie, bring your swimsuit to this high alpine lake.  Once you have completed this hike, head over to Rainbow Lodge (further east on Big Bend Road) for a cocktail.  The bar has wonderful historic pictures and the lobby is really nice to see. The hotel was built in the 20s by one of the famous builders in our area - Hershel Jones. 

Monumental Spires

The Monuments form a kind of witches' coven of stone pinnacles, huddled around a series of pools and low waterfalls on Monumental Creek. The principal Monument rises sheer one hundred feet from the water, and has a crown of white, which seems to be a combination of a quartz vein, and down-dripping white stains, which have been speculated as deriving from centuries of nesting eagles.

• Take Emigrant Gap Road toward North Fork Campground on Forest Road 19.  Go past the campground to Onion Valley.  
• Turn right onto Forest Road FR 45-2
• Follow the road to the end and find the creek bed

More directions will be added once we take this hike but here is a photo of one of the spires: