Kenebec & Spring Creek Waterfalls
Post date: Apr 15, 2012 10:30:16 PM
A few months ago I had planned out a waterfall trip in which I would visit Kenebec Creek, Humbug Creek, and Spring Creek near the South Yuba River. A couple of times I decided not to go but this weekend I made the drive after probably the last major storm of the season. As I made my way over Donner Summit, I saw quite a bit of snow (at least compared to earlier this year). While heading towards Edwards Crossing, the snow did not disappear until I was heading into the South Yuba River Canyon along North Bloomfield Road. Along much of CA-20, there was a substantial amount of snow most of which came from this last storm. Before heading over the river at Edwards Crossing I stopped at a small roadside waterfall. I called this Vine Falls due to its surroundings (at right). Next, I drove up to the starting point for Kenebec Creek along North Bloomfield Road. I headed down an old road into the forest to the south. After ~1/4 mile I left the road and scrambled down the hillside towards the creek and first waterfall. This was quite an impressive waterfall and the top portion is visible from the road. I didn't arrive early enough in the day to not worry about the sun shining on the creek, but I was granted a healthy supply of clouds throughout the day to help with contrast issues. After taking some pics of the upper and lower portion of this first waterfall, I headed back up the hill to the old road. I then made my way downhill until I could hear a second significant waterfall (below). I left the old road again (too soon as it turned out) and made my way down the steep hillside to the creek again, where I found the second waterfall. This is a very pretty waterfall with lots of greens surrounding it. As I made my way downstream from this waterfall, I came across a footbridge and a trail. This is the South Yuba River Trail that comes in from the west and then joins the old road I was following a little more downstream (and uphill). Therefore, I could've stayed on the old road and followed the trail down to the footbridge to get to the second waterfall. Oh well, lesson learned.I continued down the South Yuba Trail for a little while before spotting a few more waterfalls down the much steeper hill. Unfortunately, from here the South Yuba Trail heads southeast and then east towards the river and I needed to head west to get to these waterfalls. I didn't know if there was a trail along the river that would get me to Kenebec Creek, so I headed off down the really steep hill. I wasn't ever in any danger of falling off a cliff during the descent, but it would be quite the workout to climb back up. When I was near the creek again I made my towards the third waterfall, which is a wide step waterfall. Here, no clouds could be found so I had to take what I could get with the pictures. Next, I made my way downstream to the fourth waterfall, which was another large one. After taking some pics, I then climbed down the side of the fifth waterfall which is near the Kenebec's confluence with the South Yuba River. The fifth waterfall (below) was my favorite and is much larger than it looks in my photos. When I followed the creek down to the river, I took a few minutes to enjoy the view and to rehydrate myself. If you've never seen the South Yuba River, you should definitely take the time because it is truly beautiful. However, in some places you do have to watch out for nudists.While I was enjoying the views of the river I noticed a waterfall along the drainage to the west and couldn't help myself from trying to get over there. With a combination of rock hopping, skirting of the river, and tramping through areas of dense thorny vines I made it to the waterfall. Britt named it "Straight-Laced Falls" after its shape when I asked her for input in naming it. The second and third tiers were almost perfectly in-line and straight. Next, I needed to decide how I was going to get back up the hill to my car.I decided not to take the shorter route by climbing straight up the hill from Kenebec Creek through the trees. Instead, I followed the river to the east until I ran into the South Yuba River Trail (a little east of the picnic area at Illinois Crossing) and then followed the trail up to the old road and then to my car. Along the way back up I noticed another significant waterfall coming into Kenebec Creek from a tributary, but was too tired to climb down there again. You can read about its location in the description of the Kenebec Creek Falls (link provided below). Back at the car, I checked myself for ticks and found one inside my pants, which made for a total of three during this part of the day. I had sprayed myself with Deep Woods Off before leaving the car, which may have kept some off of me but not all of them. Luckily, I found the ticks before they bit me and apparently didn't miss any because Britt couldn't find any when I got home.I decided not to go see the waterfall(s) along Humbug Creek on this day because it requires a hike with significant elevation change and my search for the Kenebec Creek falls had used up most of my energy. Therefore, I headed back to Edwards Crossing to visit the last waterfall on this day, Spring Creek Falls. This waterfall (at left) is also known as Yuba River Falls even though it occurs along Spring Creek, albeit at the confluence with the South Yuba River. The trail is an easy ~0.3 mile walk to the creek, where I saw a few people panning for gold. To get the best views of this ~20' waterfall, I needed to cross the creek. I put on my water shoes and found a flat area to cross (went up just above my knees). Virtually all of the pictures I've seen of this waterfall were taken during much lower flow along the South Yuba River and Spring Creek. This is most likely because most people visit the waterfall later in the summer. However, the waterfall looked great flowing at near capacity and I was helped with lighting by a few gracious clouds. Back at the car, I watched a few kayakers go by before checking myself one last time for ticks and leaving. In the end, I was very pleasantly surprised by the caliber of waterfalls along Kenebec Creek. Someone who likes to go out and see lesser-known waterfalls and has the energy to go off-trail should definitely check these out.Waterfalls visited on this trip:Vine Falls