Sierra Discovery Trail in the Snow
Monday, January 5th, 2009Taking the Bowman Lake Road off Highway 20 eventually takes one up to Grouse Lakes, but in the winter the road is not plowed past the PG & E facility, but this allows people to get into a short but very nice loop trail maintained by PG & E themselves.
An enjoyable trail in summer, due to the gurgling Bear river that runs next to the trail for a while, it’s also an excellent location for a short snow shoe or cross country skiing excursion. Look out for wildlife footprints in the snow, and on the far side of the trail, walk out into the alpine meadows bordered by the Bear River on one side and the South Yuba Canal on the other. Also watch out for the informative interpretive signs that dot the trail as these contain an introduction to the plant and animal life of the Sierra Nevada.
For those wanting a little more action the area across Bowman Lake road from the Sierra Discovery trail is often frequented by kids and sleds and many small sledding runs can be found here. One caveat being that it does get rather cold at this elevation and the icy snow makes an unforgiving surface to land on.