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 Reporter |
Summary: The trail to Codfish Creek Falls is a beautiful and easy hike along the North Fork American River. This is an interpretive trail with brochures available at the trailhead describing the ecology of the American River. The trail follows the river for about 1.4 miles until you reach Codfish Creek, where it turns upstream a short distance to the waterfall. The waterfall is a pretty cascade of about 50 ft. The waterfall gets the morning sun, and is shady in the afternoon. It is beautiful there in the morning, but for photographing the falls, it would be best to go in the afternoon. There is also a trail leading to the top of the falls. Backtrack on the main trail from the falls a short distance, and you'll see the steep trail leading to the top. There are no other cascades above the main falls. For more info, see my website. Trailhead: Along Hwy #80, at Weimar (10 miles east of Auburn). Take the Weimar Cross Road exit, and turn right onto Ponderosa Way. Drive south for 5.8 miles until you reach the bridge crossing the American River. The trail heads downstream on the north side of the river. The last 2.5 miles along the road (Ponderosa Way) leading to the trailhead, is a rough dirt road and very slow going. A 4x4 high-clearance vehicle is highly recommended. (Lat:39.00009 Lon:-120.94027) Trail Guides for Codfish Creek Falls: The American River. A Recreational Guide Book by PARC (PARC) California Waterfalls by Ann Marie Brown (Foghorn Outdoors) Best Seasons: Spring, Winter, User Groups: Hikers, Dogs, Ranger Contact: Auburn State Recreation Area, (530) 885-4527 Localhikes Reporter: This hike was submitted by Leon Turnbull, who has posted 18 other hikes on this site. To visit this reporters web site, click here. Trail Reviews Page 1 of 3 Submit your own review 
Reviewed by Mike on 5/12/2008 Nice hike. Pretty. There are 2 outhouses hidden along the hike and a nice trail guide. There are a couple places where the trail gets narrow and it took me two tries to find the trail head. If you came from 80, the trail is on the same side of the river that you drove down and continues downstream. Some deep pot holes and huge rocks makes the trail head tough to reach in a Honda Civic with racing tires, but it's doable. I could have done it in my old Saturn with stock tires easily. Have fun!
Reviewed by Mandy on 4/21/2008 Loved this hike! Great for beginners, but do your homework on poison oak because there is tons of it along the trail! Remember "leaves of three, leave them be!" (I scrubbed down with "Tecnu" as soon as I got home and washed my clothes and shoes.) I went with a group from school and had a great instructor show me all the cool stuff. There are black swallowtail butterflies, a really neat type of cucumber vine, and lots of beautiful wildflowers. Some really beautiful birds too. The waterfall was georgeous! We even found a yellow-legged frog at the fall. Along the trail are also some really pretty views of the river. 
Reviewed by JC on 3/26/2008 River otters, waterfall, lots of picnic spots. Awesome.
Reviewed by Lori on 2/21/2008 Okay the road down to the river is a little challenging but if you're not too squeemish it isn't that terrible... We made it down just fine in my Ford Focus (and only misjudged one minor spot so far as clearance goes). We were in first gear both up and down. Would agree with Christo regarding the the narrow path and maybe two spots requiring balance. We should have done like Christo and obeyed the "dogs on leash" sign but didn't, so our pooch took two short detours off the trail and came home with nose-to-tail hitchhiker-burrs and about 6 or 7 nasty ticks (thank God for Frontline Plus)! Fairly easy hike along the river with beautiful scenery. 
Reviewed by Christo on 2/17/2008 The road getting to the hike is very bumpy, would recommend not having a car due to low ground clearance. The hike was pretty but the trail is very narrow, my guess is about two feet wide. This made it impossible to walk to trail easily with my two dogs on the leash and even more difficult to pass other hikers with their dogs. The hike winds around the river and it is really beautiful. The waterfall is pretty but not that impressive and there is not a lot of spots to sit if many people are hanging out there. I would not recommend this hike for people who are not used to hiking as there are some spots that require balance. Tip: bring your own toliet paper!
Reviewed by Justin on 2/9/2008 This was our first hiking experience in California since moving to Sacramento from Utah where we had spectacular hiking opportunities.d We took our 8-month-old son in a backpack The trailhead was really easy to follow, but the dirt road was actually kind of scary to both go down and up again. The dirt road is really steep and very deep ruts. Too narrow for vehicles to pass going both directions. Because of this we saw only two other groups on the trail itself. The hike really does take 45 minutes to get to the falls and another 45 minutes to get out. The waterfall wasn't that impressive since your view of it is obscured by boulders at the bottom. But the trail on the way to the falls was gorgeous going along the river.
Reviewed by Viewer on 9/29/2007 great info
Reviewed by John on 5/28/2007 Pros: The dirt road to the trailhead was in better condition than I expected. A little ground clearance is recommended but four wheel drive is not required. We saw small economy cars make it in with minimal trouble. Easy family hike to the falls with beautiful views of the North Fork of the Americna River. The falls were nice in a quiet serene setting with nice shade, flowers and butterflies. Cons: Lots of poison oak. The trail is narrow and drops off steep on the river side in a few locations. Parking is limited and the locals like to hang out at the bridge. Go early, before 10 AM. 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, Placer County Hiking, Placer County Trails, Placer County Hikes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||