Boulder River — Monday, Nov. 4, 2024

Never had done the Boulder River Trail, even though I had wanted to for a while. It was always a little far of a drive, or I wanted to do trails that got higher up in the mountains, or a trail with better views. I took advantage of a rainy overcast day where I had nothing else to do to do it and wasn't disappointed. People should note that the mileage and elevation gain are a little off. 

Trailhead: I got here at about 10:30 am and there were like 5-6 cars on the trail. There is no toilet at the trailhead. There is a toilet off the road about 2.5 miles from the trailhead that is very well signed. That toilet was well stocked and clean enough. 

Trail: The first mile of the trail is well built, an old forest road, and very dry. After the first waterfall, the trail becomes much more muddy and very often was covered in water. Big puddles, creek crossings, and water flowing down the trail. Ended up with very wet feet, but nothing ever really felt dangerous. There is a small trickling waterfall right before the very large Feature Show Falls a little after a mile. Don't be fooled. The main waterfall has a short trail down to the river to see the entire waterfall from the base. It was flowing on a rainy day and was really impressive. The river was also high and flowing very fast with the rain. The 2nd major waterfall is about 2.5 miles down the trail and was also really impressive. Not as high or as interesting looking, but had a very heavy flow. The trail ends at some campsites at the river side and was a great place to stop for lunch before turning around. Only saw 5-6 other groups the whole day. Maybe one group that looked like they were going to camp. 

Wildlife: Saw a giant pacific salamander right on the trail on the way back out! Picture below. Very cool. 

Overall, I marked the trail as 8.7 miles and 1300+ ft elevation gain up and down