Hiking with Heidi

Hike Details:  Elevation range : 600-700', mostly level trail with a few ups and downs Trailhead Location :  Auburn State Recreation Area, Quarry Trail parking, this is a fee area though you can also park along the side of the road where it's not marked as a fee area, but this fills up quickly on the weekends Mileage : 3-5 miles, but you can hike out for as long as you want along the river Hiking time : 1-2 hours Bathrooms :  Pit toilet at trailhead, plus a few others along the trail Accessibility: The first mile of this trail is labeled as a wheelchair-accessible trail, which is a fairly flat gravel road. Link to CalTopo Map This is a nice, easy trail with lots of options for variety and challenge. It's great for everyone from families to hardcore trail runners. You can hike out as far or as short as you want and get a lovely little dose of nature along the way. In the winter and spring, there's lots of water and lots of green. In the summer, you have to go early i...

Hike Details: Elevation range - about 600-700' (lots of little ups and downs but no huge elevation changes) Location - from Eastbound I-80, take the Hwy. 49 South exit towards Placerville, follow it through Auburn and down into the American River Canyon. Parking is along the street or in a few lots that require a permit. For this trail, we parked on the right side of the road, right after you cross the bridge over the river. Bathrooms: Yes, porta-potties Mileage - 4-5 miles roundtrip Hiking time - 2 hours

Hike Details: Elevation range - from about 2300' down to 1300' Location - from Eastbound I-80, take the Colfax exit (135), turn left at the stop sign to get on to the frontage road called North Canyon Way, drive .6 mile to the parking lot on the left. Bathrooms: Yes, a pit toilet (better than nothing, just barely) Mileage - 7.5 miles roundtrip Hiking time - 4 hours (including stop for lunch)

Hike Details: Elevation range - about 800' (lots of little ups and downs but no huge elevation changes) Location - from Eastbound I-80, take Exit 130, W. Paoli Lane. From the exit, turn left onto W. Paoli Lane, then continue straight on Paoli Lane (don't go back over the freeway on W. Paoli Lane). It ends at Ponderosa Road, then turn right and just keep going! It becomes a dirt road, single lane, and is SUPER bumpy! We drove my husband's truck and we were still worried about all the bumps! Definitely not a place I'd go with a sketchy vehicle as there's also no cell coverage down in the canyon. Just keep driving down the windy road until you get to the river and there's a small parking lot. Bathrooms: Maybe? Might be a pit toilet at the trailhead, if there was we didn't use it. Mileage - 3 miles roundtrip Hiking time - 1-2 hours

Hike Details: Elevation   range  - 600' to 1630' Location  - Auburn State Recreation Area at the intersection of Highway 49 and Old Foresthill Road, also known as the "Confluence" of the American Rivers - parking is free along most parts of the road, but there are also a few fee area parking lots Mileage   - 4.5 miles roundtrip Hiking time - 2 hours 

Hike Details: Elevation - low of 535' to high of 1194' Location - Auburn State Recreation Area - Confluence Mileage - 4-5 miles Hiking time -1 1/2 hours Route - See the map below, we parked at the Confluence beyond the bridge, near the bathroom (fee area). We followed the Stagecoach Trail, but then took a sharp left to head towards the Manzanita Trail, which took us to the Park Headquarters. We crossed Hwy. 49 to join the Western States Trail, crossed the No Hands Bridge and then crossed the river again back to the parking lot. Weather - Barely cool when we started at about 8:30, and just got progressively warmer. Fortunately we finished before it was too hot to hike. These nifty graphics were made from the caltopo.com website -- best hike planning/mapping website!! I'm just nerdy enough that I enjoy figuring this stuff out. And I love that the elevation profile makes it look like we climbed a really high mountain. :) So this hike was our second choi...

Hike Details: Elevation - 550' - 700' Location - Auburn State Recreation Area Parking -  We parked in the lot (fee required) right at the trailhead on the left side of Highway 49 after crossing the bridge. There's often parking along the road for free if you get there early. Mileage - 5+ miles Hiking time - 2 hours Route - We just followed the trail along the river, with a little side hike up to a rock climbing area, than continued back along the river for a couple of miles, and returned back the same way. Good morning, beautiful American River! Mountain Quarries Mine entrance -- apparently there's a little lake inside with a boat still tied up. Inside the little cliff/quarry rock climbing area Rocking our Heidi Run shirts And rocking the selfie stick :)

Hike Details: Elevation - not much Location - Auburn State Recreation Area Mileage - 7 miles Hiking time - 2 hours Route -We parked in the lot at the confluence, then we walked across the bridge on Foresthill Rd to the trailhead Weather - overcast, a few sprinkles, but nice, brisk hiking weather :)    The first real hike of the year! The weather looked a little ominous with gray skies and some rain as we headed up the hill, but once you're packed and ready to go hiking, might as well just enjoy it! The sun never really came out much, but it wasn't too cold and was nice and brisk for hiking. One thing we did notice though was all the GREEN! Considering we're still in a drought, there was a lot of it! We felt like we were walking through an enchanted forest.And the water in this section of the river really is this unique turquoise color. I'll have to research and figure out why.  We crossed under the Foresthill Bridge...   ...