Hello Pathfinder Parents,

This Sabbath, October 16, 2021 the Lodi Pathfinders will be going on a day trip to Natural Bridges in Calaveras County.  PREPARE TO BRING SNACKS FOR YOU, FAMILY, AND FRIEND.  Please plan on coming and bring a friend.  We will need your help with transportation.  We will meet at the trailhead at 2:00 PM.  Driving directions and a map are shown below.  We expect to be back home in the late afternoon. 

All pathfinders and friends coming on the trip without their parent must come with the completed permission and medical forms.  Download the forms from our website: http://www.wildernesswalker.com/Downloads/Pathfinders_Trip_Packet.pdf 

Pathfinders need to be prepared to get wet and have a change of dry clothes for the drive home.  Bring two pair of shoes.  Hiking shoes for the walk down to the creek and back and a pair of old tennis shoes or water shoes for wading/swimming in the creek.  If you want to float/swim through the cave you must bring a floatation device such as an inner-tube (with air pump) or life-vest.  You will also need a day backpack and large plastic trash bag to carry your wet shoes, wet inner-tube, etc. and trash.  Bring plenty of drinking water.  There is no drinking water where we park, along the trail, or at the creek.

Natural Bridges are naturally formed geological caves through which Coyote Creek flows.  The limestone tunnels make a charming destination for a short hike in the Sierra foothills.  Starting at 1,500 feet elevation, Upper Natural Bridge Trail descends 300 feet on a 2-mile round trip hike.

While the sign for the Natural Bridges Day Use Area is easy to spot on Parrots Ferry Road, the start of the trail is less obvious. The trail does not begin from the end of the paved side road as you might expect, but instead starts closer to Parrots Ferry Road. Look for a round metal gate on the east side of the road (designed to block bike traffic) and start hiking down the Upper Natural Bridge Trail.  

To get to the trailhead, take Highway 4 to the town of Vallecito (4.5 miles east of Angels Camp and 3.3 miles south of Murphys) and turn south on Parrots Ferry Road. Drive 3.7 miles until you spot a large sign marking the “Natural Bridges Day Use Area” on the right. Park along the shoulder of Highway 4 or turn down the paved side road and park on the shoulder. Coming from the south, it is 1.2 miles up Parrots Ferry Road from New Melones Lake to the trailhead, labeled as Airola Road on Google Maps).

Trailhead address: Parrots Ferry Road & Airola Road, Vallecito, CA 95222

Trailhead coordinates: 38.052011, -120.471381 (38° 03′ 07.23″N 120° 28′ 16.97″W)

Your Pathfinder CoDirectors,

Erich Myers, 209-608-9685

David Marson, 209-712-7070

PS. Click here for more information on the Natural Bridges trip.

.