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Western States Trail
(Poverty Bar to Ford’s Bar)
20 miles from G.T.
Easy 8 miles R.T.
This trail is great for early Spring wildflowers in March and river
access any time of the year. The Western States trail is 100 miles from
Squaw Valley to Auburn and a popular endurance race for runners; its
held annually nearest the full moon of mid-June. This section is on the
Placer side of the river and managed by California State Parks (Auburn
State Rec. Area, ASRA).
Directions:
From Auburn go east on I-80 to the Foresthill exit a few miles east of
Auburn. Follow Foresthill Road to Drivers Flat Road, Go Right. This road
is sometimes rough depending on winter rain activity and grading but
usually passable with 2 WD cars. Park at the bottom near the river. The
upstream trail follows the road while the downstream Poverty Bar trail
begins a short ways back up Drivers Flat on the river side of the road.
The trail
upstream towards Ford’s Bar (4 miles)
follows the road for 1 1/2 miles before it turns to single track beyond
a gate. It passes the washed out Greenwood Bridge that failed when Hell
Hole dam collapsed Dec. 24, 1964. The bridge was never replaced. The
noisy rapids upstream of the bridge site are known as “Ruck-A-Chucky”
and are usually too dangerous for boaters to safely run.
The trail is pleasant and usually offers
solitude to Ford’s Bar where it continues as a road up 12 miles to Todd
Valley. Ford’s Bar was an old mining town with a post office during the
gold rush and a daily stage connected it to Todd Valley.
The trail downstream is mostly easy for
its 2 miles to Poverty Bar. It offers access to the river along the way
and good wildlife and wildflower viewing all year. During the low summer
end flows of the river one could cross at shallow Poverty bar and access
the Quarry Road/Trail on the opposite side and continue to the
confluence with the North Fork American
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