Stevens Trail
Colfax (Placer County) · near Colfax · Gold Country & Central Valley
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Route type
- out-and-back
- Distance
- 7.7 miles
- Elevation gain
- 1,275 ft
- Time needed
- day
- Best season
- Feb–Apr · Wildflowers, seasonal waterfall, cooler temps; very hot in summer
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- No permit; free BLM-managed trailhead parking off I-80.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 0 of 5
What is here
- Features
- North Fork American River canyon · Historic 1870s Gold Rush wagon route · Wildflowers & seasonal waterfall · River swimming holes
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- No
Hiking detail
- Intl tip
- The payoff is at the bottom — budget energy for the sustained 1,200-foot climb back up, and carry more water than you think in spring's first warm spells.
The guide
One of the best canyon hikes in the foothills, Stevens Trail descends a wildflower-lined historic route into the deep North For…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Stevens Trail — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 39.105648, -120.947185