Stevens Trail

Stevens Trail is a moderate 9 mile out-and-back hike located in Colfax, CA. My best friends and I loaded up my car at 5:30 AM and drove one hour to do this hike on Sunday, November 13th. We started our hike at 6:30 AM and finished our hike by 10:30 AM (including picture breaks, lunch, and backtracking because we went the wrong way).

Although the details pictured below says 3.2 miles to the river, it was actually 4.5 miles there. I took a screenshot of the directions pictured below and used it as a guide throughout my hike. At Stevens Trail, there is cell reception but I always like having a picture handy just in case.

If you enter Stevens Trail in your GPS, it will take you straight to the trail head. The small parking lot is right alongside the freeway.

We arrived at 6:30 AM and no one else was there. When we left at 10:30 AM, the parking lot had quite a few cars. There is a bathroom in the parking lot which is convenient.

4.5 miles to the river.

Here we go! Pre-hike selfie. It was a bit foggy/misty and the sun was just beginning to rise at 6:30 AM.

The beginning portion of this hike is shady and immediately starts downhill.

For the most part, the trail is pretty straight forward. You will see a trail sign in the beginning of the hike pictured below. After a short distance from the trailhead, you will reach an unmarked fire-break road. Turn right and keep on the trail. After a short distance, you will see another trail sign directing you to go left which will be the happier choice because if you look at the trail on the right, it is a steep uphill muddy climb that doesn't look fun.

After hiking for a while, you will reach an intersection that has a sign with the option for you to go right or left. Hikers are directed to follow the left trail and bikers the right. I forgot to take a picture of the sign! Eventually, the trails meet back up.

After hiking on the hiker's trail, you will hear the sound of a waterfall and it will get very chilly. The trails also get pretty narrow. Eventually, you will see a split. To head forward on the trail, go left towards the waterfall. Before doing that, I recommend going on the right trail because you are rewarded with the most amazing view. During the day, the view is still magnificent, but the view as the sun is beginning to rise is just unbelievable. We were blessed with an amazing sight.

After this area, the hike gets extremely rocky and scary for those that are afraid of heights. My suggestion is to not look down. You will basically be hiking along the canyon with a view of the American River.

Very narrow and could be scary at times but don't look down!

After hiking a while, you come across this cave.

Because we hiked so early, it was actually quite chilly. However, if you did this hike during the day, it could get pretty hot as most of this portion of the hike had no shade.

The amazing view during our hike.

When you get near your 4.5 miles, there is a split by the river. Veer left to keep on going on the trail until you reach the river. There isn't an exact "end" point of the hike. At least not for us. After 4.5 miles, we felt like we were at a good place, chose an area with a nice view, climbed down some rocks and enjoyed the moment.

When you come extremely early, it's pretty cold so bring a sweater. It's also slippery climbing these rocks so be careful. I could imagine swimming in the water during the summer time but during the Fall months, the water is extremely cold!

We took some photos and soaked in nature.

Some of my favorite people!

Me and the BFF.

Hiking squad.

Food break!

So pretty!

After we ate, we began heading back. At this time, it was around 8:45 almost 9. We saw a group of bikers taking a break as we began our hike back. Note that if you come later, more people are hiking and you have to stop to share the trail. It also got EXTREMELY hot and sunny on our hike back so keep that in mind if coming later in the day.

On our hike back, we accidentally took the left trail instead of the right at the split so we ended up going on the biker trail. Same distance but just a completely different trail. I don't recommend it! The incline back is insane. I know that the incline back on the regular hiker trail is rough too but man, it was no joke!

All smiles after completing our hike!

Post-hike thoughts:

- This trail is a good hike for those that don't want an overly difficult hike but still want a challenge. The downhill hike towards the river isn't too bad. We took longer going downhill (2 hours) because we hiked a strenuous and difficult hike two days prior and our toes were hurting so it was a bit painful. Coming back uphill is the moderate part of this hike. I would also say the rocky parts of this hike made it a bit difficult as well. All in all, the downhill descent is pretty gradual so you don't really notice it until coming back up.

- This trail is very narrow so the traffic could be a bit of a pain. If other people were coming, I found myself needing to hug the earth so they could get by.

- Overall, I thought this hike was nice. It's not one of the prettiest hikes I've been on but definitely one worth doing.

Recommendations:

- Bring bug spray and sunblock.

- Come early. I can imagine the foot traffic getting bad. On our way back, many people were hiking down.

- When in doubt on which way trail to go if there is a split, always go left on your hike down to the river besides first unmarked fire-break and reverse on your way back.

- Pack water. I filled my 2 Liter CamelBak but because it was so cold in the morning, I barely drank any water. I drank more water on my way back but still had half of my pak left when we were done.

- Bring an ice chest with water and Gatorade for post hike. It was refreshing after that incline.

- Pack food and snacks to eat by the river.

- Wear hiking shoes. Because of the rocky-ness, I recommend a good pair of shoes for support.

- Come with good company, bring a camera, and enjoy nature at its finest.

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