Help Plan The Future of Auburn State Recreation Area
Auburn State Recreation Area General Plan/Resource Management Plan 
PARC's Recommendations on State Park's General Plan for Auburn State Recreation Area
 
Help shape the future of Auburn State Recreation Area by filling out the Online Questionnaire that State Parks has provided for the new General Plan. By clicking on their link, a multi-section questionnaire will pop up. You may choose to fill out any or all sections or “Management Zones.” You can submit your planning comments online through July 23, 2018.

Take the online survery, or submit your comments by mail (postmarked by June 23) to:

ASRA GP/APL RMP
c/o Cheryl Essex
California State Parks
One Capitol Mall, Suite 410
Sacramento, CA 95814

Below are survey recommendations polled from our Board members and friends of the American River. Thank you all for participating in the survey and your commitment to help shape a positive future for the American River and Canyonlands.
View PARC's recommendations below.

Print out PARC's recommendations here.

Suggestions are given in the order the tiles appear on the Auburn SRA General Plan survey page.

Here is the link to take the Auburn State Recreation Area General Plan Survey:
https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=24325
SUGGESTIONS ARE GIVEN IN THE ORDER THE TILES APPEAR ON THE AUBURN SRA GENERAL PLAN SURVEY PAGE.

KNICKERBOCKER:
  1. Establish trail connection between Olmstead Loop and Folsom Lake SRA.
  2. Improve day use facilities at Cool staging area; add picnic tables, additional restrooms, interpretive information and up to 50 additional parking spaces.
  3. Improve, add signs and open the Knickerbocker Road from Cool to the Whitewater Park area of the river for day use and camping.
  4. NO CAMPSITES in the Knickerbocker Road Activity Node. Camping here would conflict with popular multi-use trails, existing cultural and natural resources.
 
CONFLUENCE:
  1. Improve river access, trails, boater put-ins, vehicle parking and add concrete vault restrooms at Quarry Rd parking area, add river rapid portage trails and wayfinding. Provide designated 15 minute boater load/unload zone.
  2. Work with Cal Trans to fix and designate parking along Hwy 49.
  3. Solicit and improve transit and shuttle service from Auburn to the Confluence Area.
  4. Add additional rock climbing as Teichert and BOR decommission open-pit limestone extraction mines.
  5. Continue to seasonally close rock climbing areas for nesting raptors, owls, ravens and other sensitive species.
  6. Add restrooms and interpretive panels to the current and future rock climbing areas.
  7. Provide guided tours of the Mtn. Quarries Mine. Shuttle mine tour visitors from location(s) other than the Confluence.
  8. Add interpretive panels and shuttle parking lots to both ends of the Auburn-Foresthill Bridge.
  9. Enter into an agreement with Placer County to provide shuttle-bus service to the Confluence and Mammoth Bar Areas.
  10. Allow, by special permit or other management tool base jumping from the Foresthill Bridge.
 
AUBURN INTERFACE:
  1. Auburn to Cool Trail Bridge connection.
  2. Provide low impact environmental and group camping sites on El Dorado side of the river, including walk-in camp sites and tent-only car-camping sites. No RV’s or trailers.
  3. Expand and improve trailhead, day use, special event and parking facilities on both sides of the river.
  4. Improved boater put-in and take-out sites. Provide infrastructure for slalom gates at the Whitewater Park.
  5. Request permission from PCWA for use of Pump Station Road for day use boating access to replace lost access at Birdsall.  Improve road as needed, designate parking area and 15 minute boat loading zone at trail access to the beach upstream of pump inlet.
  6. Evaluate options for boater shuttle service.
  7. Ensure multi-use trail connectivity from Downtown Auburn into the Auburn State Recreation Area.
 
CHEROKEE BAR/RUCK-A-CHUCKY:
  1. Improve, grade, add base rock and fix water drainage features on Drivers Flat and Sliger Mine Rds.
  2. Replace the washed out Greenwood Bridge with a non-motorized trail bridge crossing of the Middle Fork at Ruck-a-Chucky campground.
  3. Improve Drivers Flat Road upstream of gate at Greenwood Bridge site.
  4. Add additional campsites to Greenwood/Ruck-a-Chucky campground as space allows.
  5. Add parking, day use facilities and restrooms to Cherokee Bar day use area.
  6. Block vehicle access to beach areas.
  7. NO CAMPING at Cherokee Bar.
 
FORESTHILL DIVIDE:
  1. Improve trailhead parking, picnic sites and restrooms.
  2. Provide “traditional” State Park camping with campground host up to 20 sites at a site that doesn’t conflict with trail use and cultural resources.
  3. Improved maintenance of the popular Foresthill Divide Loop Trail.
 
LAKE CLEMENTINE:
  1. New trail connection along the lake from Lower to Upper Lake Clementine.
  2. NON-MOTORIZED watercraft rentals, classes, trips and storage at Upper Lake and if feasible at Lower Lake.
  3. Improve Upper Lake Road for year round day use.
  4. Flood proof vault toilet(s), concrete picnic tables and shade structures at Upper Lake.
  5. Renovate existing marina without expanding.
  6. Add floating deck in camping area for on lake non-motorized camping.
 
LOWER MIDDLE FORK:
  1. Improved trail access including American Canyon and Robie/Canyon Creek trail heads with improved parking, interpretive and map panel signage panels that identify WST and Tevis Trails in this area. Trail sign WST and Tevis Trails.
 
MINERAL BAR:
  1. Expand Mineral Bar campground and day use parking as space allows.
  2. Add campground host.
  3. ENFORCED NO CAMPING along Pennyweight Trail.
  4. Improve commercial and private boater put-ins as needed, including additional parking spaces.
 
UPPER NORTH FORK:
  1. North Fork Trail improvements from Windy Point to Yankee Jims.
  2. Trail footbridge across Shirttail Creek.
  3. Add and improve parking, picnic and toilet facilities at both Yankee Jims and Ponderosa Bridges.
  4. Improve; grade, base rock and fix or add water bar and drainage features for both sides of Ponderosa Way and Yankee Jims Road. Develop a maintenance plan for both roads.
  5. Work with Placer County on Yankee Jims Bridge replacement project that includes preserving the historic bridge for pedestrian use.
 
UPPER MIDDLE FORK:
  1. Inter into a management agreement with US Forest Service for whitewater put-in at Oxbow/Indian Bar.
  2. Improve road for day use at Cache Rock/Volcanoville Areas.
 
MAMMOTH BAR:
  1. Keep Mammoth Bar open year round for day use including picnic, fishing and boating takeout.
  2. Relocate OHV track away from the riverside location.
  3. Investigate and if possible relocate OHV track and accompanying facilities to Castle Rock Area. If OHV Park is moved expand OHV usage days.
  4. Add technical mtn. bike trails.
  5. Construct portage trail around Murderers Bar Rapid.
  6. Improve the trail to the Murderers Bar day use area.
  7. Identify and sign a trail link from Mammoth Bar to the Confluence Area.
  8. If the OHV track is moved expand day use facilities and parking at Mammoth Bar.
  9. Consider Placer County shuttle bus service from proposed Auburn-Foresthill Bridge parking areas to Mammoth Bar and Confluence Areas using the Old Auburn-Foresthill Road.
 
PARK-WIDE TOPICS:
With few exceptions we are in agreement with the park-wide guidelines.
We would like to add:
 
CAMPING:
  1. In order to retain and protect wildlife areas most new camping facilities should be low impact camping such as walk in, tent only or environmental camping. There are many examples of this increasingly popular type of camping, such as Willow Creek and Pomo Camp on the Sonoma Coast, throughout the State Parks system.
  2. Consider temporary special event camping when tent and car camping is needed for large special events held within the Auburn SRA.
  3. Consider a total campfire ban in the park except during rainy season.
 
INTERPRETIVE/EDUCATIONAL:
  1. Hire an interpretive specialist to provide important educational link between park visitors, volunteers and natural and cultural resources in the Auburn SRA. This is especially important as the number of park visitors and special events expands to protect the wildlife, (flora and fauna), and cultural elements in the park.
  2. Organize educational events with the help of Canyon Keepers, PARC, Audubon, Sierra Club etc. to educate the public to safely and respectfully recreate in the park.
  3. Protect sensitive species.
 
TRAILS AND ROADS:
  1. Hire a trails manager. The exceptionally abundant network of trails are one of the most important assets of the park. With the help of volunteers, trails could be much better maintained.
  2. Dedicate equipment and train staff to operate the equipment and better maintain the park access roads.
 
VOLUNTEERS:
Train and better educate ASRA staff to work with volunteers. One of the biggest complaints we hear are that people love the park and want to be involved in taking better care of it on all levels but are excluded because staff are not trained or allowed to work with volunteers.

Take the Auburn State Recreation Area General Plan Survey:
https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=24325