Trail Manager: Rice’s Crossing Preserve managed by Bear Yuba Land Trust | Contact info@bylt.org / (530) 272-5994
Length: 1.1 miles one way. This is a connector trail between Yuba Rim and Yuba Drop.
Altitude Change: Approximately 750 feet
Difficulty: Moderate. The way out is downhill and can be completed fairly quickly. The hike back up the slope is much more challenging.
Trail surface: Native soil
Environment: Mixed coniferous forest.
Rules: Equestrian, foot and bike only. Dogs on leash. No motorized vehicles. Stay on trails. No smoking. No littering.
Caution: Always hike with a buddy when exploring Rice’s Crossing Preserve. This is wild country alive with mountain lions, bears and rattlesnakes. Lots of poison oak along the shoulders of the trail to be mindful of.
Trailhead: Use the Yuba Rim trail parking lot and the Yuba Rim trail to access the Trabucco trail. From Nevada City, take Highway 49 towards Camptonville, turn left on Marysville Road and cross over the Bullards Bar Dam. Rice’s Crossing Preserve is located 1.3 miles from the dam. Park in the turnout on the left, across from the quarry by the large white sign above the meadow. The trailhead begins at the large rock boulders next to the white sign, look for a Yuba Rim trail sign at the bottom of the hill at the edge of the meadow.
How to get there: From Nevada City, take Highway 49 towards Camptonville, turn left on Marysville Road and cross over the Bullards Bar Dam. Rice’s Crossing Preserve is located 1.3 miles from the dam. Park in the turnout on the left, across from the quarry by the large white sign above the meadow. The trailhead begins at the large rock boulders next to the white sign, look for a Yuba Rim trail sign at the bottom of the hill at the edge of the meadow.
The area we know today as Rice’s Crossing Preserve was always a place of significance for the Nisenan people. Today, walking the trail is a chance to interact with nature. Native plant species like Red bud, Tan oak, Honeysuckle, Madrone, Ceanothus, Douglas fir, Ponderosa pine and dogwood line the trail’s edge.
Now that the land is a preserve, this pristine and rugged ecosystem, home to rattlesnakes, mountain lion and bear will be protected as open space forever. Once along the ridge, look for views of the rock quarry used to build Bullards Bar in the 1960s, and to the North east, it is fun to identify natural landmarks with names like “Saddle Back” and “Fir Cap.”
Environment: The Rice’s Crossing property comprises 2,706 acres spanning both sides of the Middle and North Yuba Rivers and their confluence, and bounded by New Bullard’s Bar Reservoir to the North and Army Corps of Engineers area and the South Yuba River State Park on the south. BYLT’s management of the property will improve and permanently protect the region’s biodiversity, watershed health, and habitat for a range of resident, migratory, threatened and endangered species. The project will re-establish wildlife corridors and restore an important mid-elevation transition zone of the Yuba River and to facilitate future habitat restoration efforts for salmon and native trout.
Trail tips: There is poison oak along the shoulders of the trail to be mindful of. This trail is in wild country so please be prepared for wildlife encounters should they occur. If you come across a bear make lots of noise and back away slowly. It is always good to hike with a buddy.