Blue Hole Trail 16E25 Salt Springs, CA

Overview
Wonderful, easy hike along the north side of Salt Springs Reservoir to the beautiful Blue Hole area on the Mokelumne River with cascades and pools plus hundreds of amazing 3,000-year-old salt evaporation basins.


History
According to a 2017 USGS Report (authors Moore, Diggles, Evans, Klemic), the salt spring on the north fork of the Mokelumne River (also known as Hams Salt Spring) was used by Washoe and Miwok natives to harvest valuable salt. They created hundreds of round basins in the surrounding granite (probably excavated with the help of fire to fracture the rock) averaging 4-feet in diameter and 2-feet in depth. By filling the basins with the salt-laden spring water and then allowing the water to evaporate it is estimated that several tons of dry salt could be gathered during a typical summer period.Hike
Park at the small lot adjacent to the Salt Springs dam with a pit toilet and picnic tables. The trail begins at the top of the dam and follows the north shore of the reservoir to the eastern end where the river enters. The gently rolling trail is well constructed, easy to follow, and shaded along much of its length, although it will be very hot during midsummer with the southern exposure. Strong afternoon winds are common in summer and also watch out for poison oak and rattlesnakes.

Note
The trail ends near Blue Hole pool but to fully explore the rugged area's pools, cascades, and the salt basins you will need to cross the Mokelumne River, a major river draining a huge Sierra watershed. River flow and reservoir levels will be determined by the time of year, the previous winter's snowfall, dam release rates, etc. By late summer/early fall, the reservoir level typically drops significantly with power generation at the PG&E hydroelectric station. The river is most easily crossed in the dry lake bed near the eastern end.

2023-09-29 toddak