Introduction:
Where?
: Located in calaveras county on E18 road that connect Columbia to Vallecito.
Google Map Link
What? :
A nice 2 mile loop hike that will take you down to an interesting place: a
river that is going through a cave.
When? :
Year round, Hot summer weekends can be crowded.
Due
note 1: The most important tip I can give is come early, at mid-summer day the small
parking lot get full and the trail and the cave are packed with people.
Due
note 2: Dogs and bikes are not allowed.
Due
note 3: People recommend bringing with you a small inflatable for the swim
inside the cave.
My
thoughts: We visit here on a warm winter day, so we did not get into the cave,
the hike is not difficult, and the cave entrance is interesting place to visit.
The
visit:
Once you get into the parking lot and it looks full keep going and try to find parking on the narrow road.
During summer parking get full so you need to find a place you
can park on the main road (need to see sections without no parking signs).
The trail
start right near the entrance to the parking lot, is easily descend to the forest
below and from there to the main canyon. After 1-mile hike you will find the
trail that is going down to the river and the cave entrance.
Here you
can get into the cave; I understand it is deep so you will need to swim in some
sections. We cam at Thanksgiving so we did not enter the cave.
You can
also take the unmark trail that following the stream down the river. We were
short on time, so we did not walk to much in that direction. After going back
to the cave entrance we connect back to the trail we arrived with, here you can
go back on the way you came down or take left and take this trail back to the
parking lot, it is less maintained but you can follow it up the hill and to the
end of the car parking lot.
www:
https://www.gocalaveras.com/business/outdoor-recreation/natural-bridges/
Map:
https://www.usbr.gov/mp/ccao/newmelones/docs/maps/map-natural-bridges.pdf
Pictures:
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