Leon Turnbull Photography

New York Canyon Falls …a 500 ft. high towering monster in the North Fork American River Canyon. Rugged beauty unparalleled. Remoteness to the highest degree. No trails. Sheer cliff drop-offs. Heavy thick brush. Where so very few have gone before.

I have been here once before with my brother-in-law a few years ago. We did it in a two day backpacking trip starting at Mumford Bar and hiking up the North Fork American River to New York Creek. From there we had to scramble up New York Canyon to get a view of the waterfall. There are no trails up New York Canyon and it was very difficult. But it was an awesome trip.

Now to return once again. But can the trip be made as a day hike? I learned about this possibility from the late Russell Towle, a true adventurer, explorer, and first class advocate for the North Fork American River Canyon, certainly one of the most beautiful canyons on Earth. I mapped out the probable route on my GPS, called my good friend Rob Macklin to come along on the journey, and set off from home at 3:15AM.

The idea for a day hike is to hike in from the top, off of the Sailor Canyon Trail. The road to Sailor Canyon is not open until much later, after most of the snow has already melted. By this time, the waterfall’s flow will be much less. This is why my brother-in-law and I went in from Mumford Bar. But you can’t do a day hike from Mumford Bar. From reading Russell’s notes, I anticipated three very major obstacles on this hike. But there were actually four: brush, cliff, creek crossing, and cliff.

We arrived at the Sailor Canyon trailhead well before sunrise and started hiking down the trail. At some point along the trail, we had to cut off and head cross country over to New York Canyon. There are no trails, signs, or markers. Only my GPS based off of Russell’s notes. At the specified point, we headed over through the brush. The going was pretty good. A huge forest fire whipped through this region a couple years ago, and fortunately for us, cleared out a lot of the brush. I can’t imagine what this hike was like before the fire, but I heard about a wall of practically impassable manzanita brush along this section, in particular as you cross a small ravine along the way. The brush, however, was hardly noticeable as we crossed the ravine. Obstacle #1 surpassed.

The next section was the one I was most concerned with. After the ravine, you need to find a way to scale a cliff wall. There is supposedly one and only one route from the ravine to top of the ridge. I had no idea where this route was or how to find it. But my mapping with my GPS was spot on. It led me right up the cliff wall, where we had a stupendous view of the canyon from the top. We even found the faint trail leading up the ridge. Obstacle #2 surpassed.

On the other side of the ridge, the “trail” leads back down to New York Creek, which we needed to cross above the waterfall. It is probable that much earlier in the spring, the creek would be raging far too high to cross. But now with the flow much reduced it was simple. We could easily rock hop across. Obstacle #3 surpassed.

On the other side of the creek, the “trail” leads up to the top of another ridge. More stupendous views. We were now close to the brink of the waterfall. We needed to work our way down the other side along the cliffs, and then down down down to a little knoll located to the side of the waterfall. The sun was coming up over the mountains, and beginning to light up that little knoll. Could we make it down there in time? This is where we came upon obstacle #4, which was the worst one of all. We could not find an easy route along the cliff edge and down to the knoll. Except … for one incredibly narrow rocky route with a huge drop-off. We had to crawl along this very carefully using the rocky handholds, and hoping they would not break as we held onto them. It totally freaked me out. I do not like scary heights, though Rob the Mountain Goat loved it. Obstacle #4 surpassed. (on the way back up, we were able to bypass this freaky ledge, thankfully).

After the narrow ledge, we easily worked our way down to the knoll. And were rewarded with spectacular views of New York Canyon Falls. We raced the sun to take our photographs as it was rising up above the mountains now. We went further down, more into the shade, so we could take some decent shots. The waterfall was definitely on the low side of flow. If we had been here even 3 weeks earlier, it would have been roaring much more greatly. Still though, it is an unbelievably spectacular location and waterfall; I think it is the best waterfall in California outside of Yosemite. I measured it officially to be 462 ft. high.

After shooting New York Canyon, we went over to the West Fork where there is another waterfall. Then we had some food and rest before heading back up the canyon. On the way back up, we came to the ridge with the hidden route through it and decided to take a different path. Instead of going back across the ravine and brushy area, Rob wanted to go straight up the ridge, which would essentially lead us straight back to our vehicle. It is just that it was quite a steep climb up that ridge. I don’t know how I let him talk me into doing this. The ridge is not named, so I am officially naming it “Macklin Ridge”, since it was Rob’s idea to go up there. It actually turned out to be a very good plan. The views of the canyon from Macklin Ridge are incredible, and we found a couple other waterfalls as well. I will definitely need to return here and try to get up close to these other waterfalls. The fire had cleared out most of the brush on Macklin Ridge, so it was relatively easy going. Just a steep climb up to the top. Surprisingly, there was even a trail going up the ridge. Obviously, other people had been up there, and I wonder if much of the trail was made from the fire fighters.

After our epic hike, we needed an epic lunch. And the Ore Cart Steakhouse in Foresthill was definitely up to the task. This building was built in the 1850’s and is complete with underground tunnels and a 3 layer brick roof (to keep out the injuns). The food is pretty amazing as well. Rob had been here before and knew they made this monster burger which is enough for two people. I was pretty hungry though and had my doubts. Will this really feed two hungry men? The menu just said “biggest burger in Placer county”, but didn’t say anything about it being for two people. Anyway, we ordered it. The service in the restaurant was slow as molasses but we were in no hurry. When the burger finally arrived, I couldn’t believe how huge it was. It was certainly the biggest burger I have ever laid my eyes on, and it was easily enough for two people. I was starving and wolfed down my half of the burger and fries very quickly, but was full and satisfied afterwards. Rob finished his burger, but just barely. I told him he must not have worked hard enough on the hike that morning if he had troubles finishing that burger.

It was definitely a glorious day in the North Fork American River Canyon.