Natural Bridges (Vallecito)
Vallecito (Calaveras County) · near Vallecito · Gold Country & Central Valley
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- easy
- Route type
- out-and-back
- Distance
- 2 miles
- Elevation gain
- 300 ft
- Time needed
- day
- Best season
- Summer (the point is swimming through the cave); trail accessible year-round
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- BLM — no fee or permit. Dogs and bikes are NOT permitted. Steep, unmaintained user path down to the creek; no lifeguards.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 0 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Limestone natural bridge / arch · ~250-ft cave passage over Coyote Creek · Swimming hole you can float through · Fern & moss grottoes
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Hiking detail
- Intl tip
- Come on a summer weekday with water shoes and a headlamp to swim or wade the cave; the short trail is steep and often muddy near the water. Arrive early — the small lot overflows, and no dogs are allowed.
The guide
A short trail drops to one of the foothills' most unusual features — a limestone tunnel where Coyote Creek flows through a natu…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Natural Bridges (Vallecito) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 38.052, -120.4714