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 Reporter |
Summary: This isn't the most difficult hike in the world, but it's one of my favorites. The terrain is extremely varied for such a small hike. You start at an abandoned mine at the site of an old town known as Spenceville. As you walk the dirt road, you see pass a creek and cross rolling hills. At the end of the road, you turn right and pass through a metal gate. Once past the gate, you climb a hill and emerge on a grassy meadow and a cattle crossing. At the edge of the meadow is a trail that leads through a wooded area and finally exits at a great swimming hole along the creek. After a refreshing dip, follow the trail along the creekside and up the hill. Climb over the rocks and you're at the overlook for Beale Falls. You can either walk around the other side of the hill and to the top of the falls, or walk the steep trail next to the protective fence. Either way, it's a great place to eat lunch. When it's all over, head back the way you came! Trailhead: Drive East on Hammonton/Smartville Rd. from Marysville East. Turn right on Smartville Rd. at the Beale AFB exit. 5 miles to Waldo Rd.. Turn left on Waldo Rd., which is a dirt road. Cross the one-lane bridge and turn left. Drive to dead end at wooden bridge. This is the trailhead. (Lat:39.11407 Lon:-121.26812) Trail Guides for Beale Falls: Best Seasons: Year-Round User Groups: Hikers, Dogs, Bikes, Horses, Ranger Contact: California Department of Fish & Game, Spenceville Area Manager (530) 538-2236 Localhikes Reporter: This hike was submitted by Greg Chance, who has posted 8 other hikes on this site. To visit this reporters web site, click here. Trail Reviews Page 2 of 4 Submit your own review 
Reviewed by rmh on 11/3/2008 Hiked this trail this weekend. Weather and trail were beautiful. Followed everyone's directions and found it without a problem. Went with two kids and one out-of-shape person and everyone had a great time. The falls were roaring. Perfect day.
Reviewed by lisa on 9/21/2008 Thank you cmb for your post we would have given up on finding it with the directions offered. I took my kids ages 2-14 and we loved it we took beautiful pictures and we could not have asked for better weather, this was a great hike.
Reviewed by cpm on 9/2/2008 Nice easy hike and lots of fun at the falls. My kids & I had a blast in the pools above the falls and swimming in the large pool at the bottom. Finding the place is a challange however. When coming from Beale AFB, go out the Grass Valley Gate. Just a few miles from the gate, turn right onto Waldo (gravel rd). You'll immediately pass a firing range on the left. After the wooden bridge, go to the left. At the fork in the road, veer left again. You'll cross another small wooden bridge. Soon after that, the road ends. There is a parking lot with a yellow gate to the left just before the road ends. Park here, go through the gate & across the bridge. Go to the right on the large dirt path. It will take you to the falls. 
Reviewed by Mike on 7/26/2008 So a friend of mine from the AF base and I hiked into this place with 150-200lbs of dive gear on a cart. I can tell you by how terrible it was hauling this gear in, no one has dove this water fall. The water fall was great, good picture oportunites. We dove down 40 feet and found bottom but there was an area that went deeper we decided not to go further. Overall we did 2 dives theres lots of perch and trout, crawdads etc.. in there. Great for hikers and a good adventure.
Reviewed by bvtv on 5/13/2008 This was a where's Waldo Road trip for us. Nice hike and will do again but directions above are vague. The falls are located in the Smartville Wildlife/ recreation area and I would find good directions before you leave.!! After a couple of false starts, we determined the directions above can apply whether you come off Hwy 70 or Hwy 20. We came up Hwy 70 from Sacramento, took the Beale AFB exit and found the Smartville/Hammonton Rd turn off. You drive at least 10 miles, then turn right before Smartville when the road forks. If you go past the Smartville cemetary, you've gone too far. At this point is when you start the 6 mile count for Waldo Road.
Reviewed by jvb on 5/7/2008 Hiked it a couple weeks ago (April 2008). It was a nice walk. Recommend that when you get to the far side of the big meadow (old cattle gate at the top) take the spur trail instead of making the right onto the wide trail. It's more rustic and has more varied topography to enjoy without adding difficulty. The falls are really quite pretty.
Reviewed by John on 3/29/2008 Closed until April 6, so it was just a waste of gas for me!
Reviewed by Paul and Diana on 10/28/2007 Nice hike. A little hard to find though. Here are some tips. The left after the one lane bridge is about 300 yard after the bridge and had a big wooden sign. Once at the trailhead, stay right. You will see a white gate, stay right, go through the medow and again right onto the big trail. Notice: Traveling in the backcountry can be hazardous. You are responsible for informing yourself about these hazards and taking necessary precautions. Information on this web site comes from volunteer reporters and may contain errors or omissions. A current guidebook and proper equipment are essential for safe enjoyment of the hikes posted on this site. Keys: California Hiking, California Trails, California Hikes, Yuba County Hiking, Yuba County Trails, Yuba County Hikes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||