Trail Managers: Bureau of Land Management | Contact Mother Lode Field Office (916) 941-3101 / BLM_CA_Web_ML@blm.gov & Nevada Irrigation District | Contact NID (530) 273-6185 / division1@nidwater.com
Length: 1.8 miles one way; 0.4 mile side trip down to Stocking Flat; 0.6 mile loop near Chinese Bridge
Altitude Change: 150′
Trail Surface: Natural Earth
Rules: No motor vehicles; stay on trails; no smoking on rural trails; no camping
Trailhead: Champion Road- From downtown Nevada City, go up Broad Street, turn left on Bennett Street and after a couple of hundred yards bear left on Monroe Street which shortly will go downhill for about 150 yards. Old Downieville Highway begins at the foot of this hill and runs west from there. Follow Old Downieville Highway about 0.3 mile to its intersection with Champion Road (a dirt road) on your left. 300′ down Champion Road on your left, with a pullout area for parking on your right (N39.26174 W121.03094).
Trail Facts: From the Champion Road follow the well-constructed dirt trail down through open forest 0.2 mile to a graveled service road alongside Deer Creek. Turn right on this road. It follows the creek for about 0.3 mile. After a nearly level stretch, you will be going gradually uphill to rejoin Champion Rd. On the way you will pass a wayside sign describing the Mountaineer Mine which extracted a large amount of gold here in the late 1800’s. A few remnants of the mine complex are visible from the trail in old cement foundations.
The Chinese Bridge section of the DCTT follows Newtown Canal, a former hydraulic mining ditch now delivering water for the Nevada Irrigation District. At Stocking Flat there are two benches, two picnic tables, decorative beds of native plants, interpretive signs, a Chinese wooden arch, and a perfectly placed footbridge — the Chinese Bridge. The signs will give you information on history, ecology, project partners and habitat restoration work. There is a memorial plaque near the bridge noting the role of Chinese pioneers. There are fine views of the waterfall and pool from the plaza and bridge. Across the bridge, there is a 0.6 mile loop trail up through the woods on the south side of the creek. Going left around the trail will first take you upstream along the trace of an old miner’s ditch, then it will climb up through chaparral and into forest for the remainder of the loop. There are a few places with good views of the Deer Creek canyon and surrounding ridges.
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