Hike Details:
Elevation range: 2400-2500', mostly level trail with a few ups and downs
Trailhead Location: Park along the turnout on Champion Mine Road here.
Mileage: 2 miles, but you can add more by exploring the other trails in the Deer Creek system.
Hiking time: 1-2 hours
Accessibility: From the trailhead parking, this wouldn't be a very accessible trail. However, it looks like you could drive to the end of Champion Mine Road and connect with the Deer Creek Tribute Trail, which is a wider, flat gravel road. From there, the trail to the suspension bridge might possibly be accessible.
We started on this trail in the mid-afternoon of a warm, sunny day--but because this trail is so green and shady, we hardly felt the heat. It was lovely!
The suspension bridge is relatively new (installed in 2014 I believe) and is a beautiful bridge spanning Deer Creek below. There's a little side trail that takes you down to the creek, but we didn't make it down there because it was already occupied by a small group of "clothing optional" hikers. ;)
I didn't get any pictures of the handful of trail signs along the way, but it was interesting to learn about the often sad history of this area once inhabited by the Nisenan Indian tribes and then taken over by gold miners. There's also an interpretive area that honors the Chinese pioneers. We didn't walk down that far, but more information can be found at the Bear Yuba Land Trust link below.
Remnants of the various mining operations can be found in a few spots along the trail.
These little "altar" inserts are found at each end of the suspension bridge.
This trail was a fun little find and one I hadn't ever heard of before. In researching it, I found lots of pictures of beautiful fall foliage, so we'll definitely be coming back during that season. After our hike, we took a stroll through the fun shops in Nevada City and had a delicious dinner at Mi Pueblo Taqueria.
More info about this trail found here: