South Yuba River at Highway 49

Where Highway 49 crosses the South Yuba, granite slabs frame green pools that draw big crowds on hot days. The river is snowmelt-fed and runs cold and fast in spring, and people have been swept away near this crossing, so wait for late-summer flows and swim only in slack water. State Parks keeps loaner life jackets here, and there is an emergency call box.

Directions

Photo: Noah_Loverbear · CC BY-SA 3.0

Get your personalized SwimScore

Latest reading · SwimScore 86/100 (Get in) for a typical swimmer: air 31°C, wind 11 km/h, UV 7. Updated 23 Sept, 22:00 UTC.

Know before you go

Best conditions: Late summer, when flows drop and the swimming holes calm down; check current river conditions before you go.
Getting in: River access at the Highway 49 bridge in South Yuba River State Park, north of Nevada City; day use only, sunrise to sunset. No fires, alcohol, glass or barbecues.
Parking & transport: Use designated parking only; illegal parking along the river corridor is a recognized safety hazard that SYRCL's River Ambassadors work to reduce.
Lifeguards: None; State Parks urges caution because moving water can turn dangerous very quickly.
Water quality: The South Yuba River Citizens League samples the Highway 49 Bridge site for E. coli and total coliform on the second Saturday of each month through the summer and posts results to the Waterkeeper Swim Guide app.
Season: Late summer; spring runoff is not safe for swimming.
Who swims here: SYRCL's volunteer River Ambassadors greet visitors at the Highway 49 and Bridgeport crossings on Saturdays from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and its River Monitors run the Safe to Swim bacteria sampling.
Watch for: Swift, cold snowmelt currents, especially in spring and early summer
Drownings and swift-water rescues near the Highway 49 crossing
Slips and falls on rocks
High wildfire danger in summer
Facilities: Loaner life jacket station · Emergency call box · SYRCL River Ambassadors on summer Saturdays (Memorial Day to Labor Day, volunteer staffing permitting)