The North Fork American River is the poster child of what a Wild and Scenic River should be. It has gorgeous tourmaline blue waters that are crystal clear; its location in a deep gorge makes accessing the river a little tricky so despite being quite close to modern civilization the river channel remains quite wild and unchanged from the way it looked back in the mining days of the late 1800s and probably even before the first human beings arrived in North America. The river lies in the region of California that attracted gold rush seekers back in 1849. You can find remnants and artifacts from that time in this region; things like abandoned mine shafts and domestic fruit trees that have long since turned wild are all over if you know where to look. You can even still find people gold panning along the river today, trying their luck like all those before them.
Besides its water quality and scenic characteristics, other outstandingly remarkable values of the river that made it eligible for designation under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act include its fish and wildlife species and vegetation. The canyon throughout which the river runs is home to a healthy population of many native birds, mammals, fish, and plants. The river supports a variety of habitat types including higher elevations of forested land and more grassland and chaparral in the lower elevations.
There are many opportunities for recreation here as well – hiking and rock scrambling, fishing, camping, gold panning, biking, and of course boating. There are numerous trails that can take you down to the river and in the summer nothing beats a swim in the cold clear water of the American River after a hike down to the bottom. Just remember, if you go down, you still have to go back up! Make sure to bring plenty of water and a shade hat if you’re planning a trip in the summer.
One great trail to explore the North Fork American River on your public lands is The Steven’s Trail. This trail is registered on the National Register of Historic Places. Built and run by Truman Allen Stevens during the Gold Rush era, the trail connected Iowa Hill and Colfax, two gold mining towns on opposite sides of the river. There was a suspension bridge back in that day to cross the river. This bridge was run by Stevens and essentially operated as a toll road between the two mining towns at that time. You can still see many of the original rock retaining walls that were built along the trail.
This trail was regularly trafficked in the 1870s but eventually as the mining became less profitable it became disused and was mostly forgotten about despite remaining on some maps. In 1969 it was “rediscovered” by a boy scout of the name Eric Kiel, and since then has become a recreation trail managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
Story and photos by Alex Studd-Sojka, American Conservation Experience Intern.
wishing I were still sitting in the middle of the American River. It felt so good to get in after our hike, we took off our clothes and hopped in -- refreshing as can be.
