South Yuba River State Park is located along the South Fork of the

Yuba River The Yuba River is a tributary of the Feather River in the Sierra Nevada and eastern Sacramento Valley, in the U.S. state of California. The main stem of the river is about long, and its headwaters are split into three major forks. The Yuba River ...

in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

, within Nevada County, in Northern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Geography

The park's portion of the South Yuba River Canyon stretches from

Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park is a state park unit preserving the largest hydraulic mining site in California, United States. The mine was one of several hydraulic mining sites at the center of the 1882 landmark case '' Woodruff v. Nor ...

downstream to

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnoc ...

, where the

visitor center A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to visitors. Types of visitor center A visit ...

and

Bridgeport Covered Bridge The Bridgeport Covered Bridge is located in Bridgeport, Nevada County, California, southwest of French Corral, California, French Corral and north of Lake Wildwood, California, Lake Wildwood. It is used as a pedestrian crossing over the South Yu ...

are located. The park protects over 11,000 acres (44.5 km²), with 2,000 acres (8 km²) by the

California Department of Parks and Recreation The California Department of Parks and Recreation, more commonly known as California State Parks, manages the California state parks system. The system administers 279 separate park units on 1.4 million acres (570,000 hectares), with over 280 ...

, and 9,000 acres (36 km²) by the federal

Tahoe National Forest Tahoe National Forest is a United States National Forest located in California, northwest of Lake Tahoe. It includes the peak of Sierra Buttes, near Sierra City, which has views of Mount Lassen and Mount Shasta. It is located in parts of six cou ...

. The park is accessed from

Highway 20 Route 20, or Highway 20, may refer to: International * European route E20 Australia * Sturt Highway (NSW/VIC/SA) * Yarra Bank Highway Brazil * BR-020 Canada * Alberta Highway 20 * British Columbia Highway 20 * Manitoba Highway 20 *New B ...

west of

Grass Valley A grass valley (also vega and valle) is a meadow located within a forested and relatively small drainage basin such as a headwater. Grass valleys are common in North America, where they are created and maintained principally by the work of b ...

or from Highway 49 north of Nevada City.

Park features

The park is noted for: * beauty of: the wild and scenic

pouring over massive granite ledges and along calm

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks ar ...

meanders; and of diverse natural areas, with walking, hiking, mountain biking, and byway roadside access. * natural history about the park's diverse: geology and

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

rock formation A rock formation is an isolated, scenic, or spectacular surface rock outcrop. Rock formations are usually the result of weathering and erosion sculpting the existing rock. The term ''rock formation'' can also refer to specific sediment ...

s; natural flora, forests, and wildflowers; and animals including

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, b ...

. * historical

gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold resources by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. However, with the expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface ...

connections and Gold Rush sites, with

gold panning Gold panning, or simply ''panning'', is a form of placer mining and traditional mining that extracts gold from a placer deposit using a pan. The process is one of the simplest ways to extract gold, and is popular with geology enthusiasts especi ...

demonstrations. The area became an immigration destination during the 1849—early 1850s

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

. * a number of 19th century bridges built along the length of this South Fork's section, including the 1862

and 1865 Purdon Crossing bridge. * The Independence Trail hiking and wheelchair - accessible nature trail. * natural

swimming hole A swimming hole is a place in a river, stream, creek, spring, or similar natural body of water, which is large enough and deep enough for a person to swim in. Common usage usually refers to fresh, moving water and thus not to oceans or lakes. ...

s, popular as summer temperatures in the surrounding communities reach triple digits.

External links

California State Parks: official South Yuba River State Park websiteSouth Yuba River Park Association websiteNevada County Gold: South Yuba River Visitor's InformationSouth Yuba River Park Adventures: pictures, events, maps, wildflowers
{{authority control State parks of California Yuba River Parks in Nevada County, California Protected areas of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Tahoe National Forest

Geography

Park features

See also

External links