Independence Trail West is now one of the most popular trails in Nevada City, CA. The trailhead is located about 6 miles west of town off Highway 49. It follows a wooded hillside, passing live streams and crossing deep gorges on restored impressive wooden flumes that once transported water for hydraulic mining. The West trail is 2.5 miles one way and is wheelchair accessible. It is rated easy on the difficulty scale and is friendly for people of all ages and experience. We even saw a women hiking in heels lol! For a longer option this trail can be combined with Independence Trail East but if you are feeling up to a more difficult option with a refreshing swim in the Yuba River you can take the Jones Bar Loop that can be combined with Independence Trail West.
The major attractions of this place are awesome walkways made from an old canal system and the wooden flumes only 1.1 miles from the trailhead. Being mostly shaded during the day, it’s great for photography where you can capture beautiful waterfalls, moss, ferns covered walls and the wooden flumes that give perfect symmetry to your photo composition. The best time to visit Independence trail is during weekdays to escape from busy parking lot and crowd.
