Capture California, the Game-2012
Adventure: 008, Hike 012 –
Lewis Creek Trail
Team: Thing One, Thing Two
Date: June 11, 2012
Location: Oakhurst
Hike Info:
Trail: Lewis Creek Trail
Distance: 7.6 miles
Duration: 4:21
Elevation Rise: 1,414
Description:
Now most guidebooks say to just continue down highway 41 until you
reach a turnout with a trail sign. But that meets the trail only half
way and team Thing One, Thing Two really dislikes doing things
half-way. So we did the full length hike of the Lewis Creek National
Scenic Trail—that's right it is a National Scenic Trail—use the
Cedar Valley Road trail head.
The reason why this is a National Scenic Trail is the trail runs
along the creek the full way, there is plenty of plant and animal
life to keep you busy. Plus there are two very attractive falls to
enjoy. Ann-Marie Brown in her book,
California Waterfalls,
describes as pure enjoyment. And they are. Corlieu Falls is a series
of cascades over rocks and around greenery. But Red Rock is a 20 foot
drop over a red rock—the redness of the rock needs to be seen
during low water times.
Starting at Cedar Valley, the trail rolls along, through pines,
cedars and wildflowers for the first mile—if done in Spring or
early Summer. Then when you hit a campsite, by the creek, the trail
starts a 500' ascent over the next mile—it feels like it is a lot
more, at least my old legs feel like it is. Some of the feeling is
that the ascent is done steeply, then levels off and then the climb
starts again. But just when you start wondering where the top is, you
see the bottom of Corlieu Falls. And it is a beauty to behold. Not
all of the great falls in the area are found in Yosemite.
After climbing to the top of the falls, you walk along the remains
of an old logging flume walkway. You reach the trail coming in from
the highway 41 trail head. We keep going and cross a log—with nice
railings to get on the east side of Lewis Creek. For the most part,
the trail still is gently rising. It continues to follow the old
logging flume path. That is until right before Red Rock Falls, when
there is a pretty good, but short rise, taking you to the top of the
falls.
To view Red Rock Falls, take a the side trail about 200 feet down
to the top of the falls. The better viewing place is the bottom of
the falls and there is a side path down to the bottom. We enjoy a
snack and then go back to the top of the trail. Most guide books have
you go back down the trail. But if you really want to finish the
trail, like we did, you go about half a mile of up and down walking
to the Sugar Pine road.
The return trip is down the same
trail, just reversing the route. As a note: the shorter version of
this trip from Highway 41 is found in the Falcon Guide book,
Best
Easy Day Hikes: Fresno by Tracy
Salcedo-Chourre, page 59. For a full account of our trip, see our
Summer hike blog.
