Visiting the Emerald Pools – a one-of-a-kind local watering hole along the South Yuba River – is worth the bit of a trek that is required to get there. It is about 10 minutes off of Interstate 80 (Emigrant Gap), 35 minutes west of Truckee and 1 hour 20 minutes northeast of Sacramento.

The area felt quite secluded and “away from it all”. The water is clear and quite cold – colder actually than Gold Lake (according to my internal thermometer), even though it is about 1500 ft lower in elevation.

I was there on a Thursday in the late afternoon and there were several groups there at the time but it didn’t feel crowded. Parking is somewhat limited – maybe 10 spots at the main parking lot and as many along the road nearby. There is no parking on the road, so if you can’t get a spot nearby then you may need to walk quite a bit (perhaps after dropping off people/stuff at the parking lot).

From the parking lot it is an easy half mile walk or so to the upper pools area. The upper pools has one main pool (photo above) and a series of smaller pools upstream. Getting into the main pool to swim was a little tricky due to the slimy rocks. Other people chose to jump into the pool from either side in the more narrow portion. The water is clear and you could tell it was pretty deep. I went under and used my arms to try to vertically descend. I pumped my arms a couple of times and didn’t touch the bottom, so I would estimate it is at least 10-12 feet deep in the middle of the pool.

If you are there and it is crowded at the main pool you can negotiate your way upstream where there are more smaller pools. Be careful as the left side (facing upstream) is somewhat of a steep cliff (“hug” the hillside as you go) and the right side is a mix of slippery and dry rocks. Even if it is not crowded, it is worth exploring upstream, especially for any geology buffs – there are some fascinating and colorful metamorphic rock formations that make up the gorge. Unfortunately I did not take my phone with me as I explored – I will have to get some good photos upstream next time.

There is also a lower pools area which is harder to get to and sounds like a more serious (perhaps dangerous) place for cliff jumping into a narrower gorge. I didn’t go to the lower pools or see how to get there. Supposedly on the way to the lower pools there are memorials to people who have died while jumping from the cliffs. Speaking of safety, there is a sign that tells people you are down stream from a dam – to be alert in case water levels rise quickly or there is some sort of safety incident at the dam!

I credit the book “Places we swim California” by Caroline Clements and Dillon Seitchik-Reardon for bringing this very cool, off the beaten path gem to my attention. Their book (which sounds awesome to have researched, btw) is my go-to for summer swim inspiration in the golden state. I apperciate how this book acknowledges to whose ancestral homelands we can credit the swimming spots. For Emerald Pools it is the home of the Nisenan and Wášiw (Washoe) people.

If the Emerald Pools are too packed and it is impossible to find parking, luckily it appears there are several options nearby for enjoying the water and the outdoors. The Sierra Discovery Trail, on the way to the Emerald Pools, might offer some creek/river type water access. Though that may require further research to find a safe spot. Continuing up Bowman Lake Road are a few lakes which look promising. Then there is also the larger Lake Spaulding Reservoir which has the dam, upstream from the Emerald Pools.