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 - 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...