Best Camping in and near New Bullards Bar Reservoir

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YUBA CANYON VISTAS

7 sites · Tents75 acres · Camptonville, CA

Hi I am Robert your Hipcamp host, welcome to Yuba Canton Vistas. Each campsite here is unique but all are intended to offer a great camping experience for campers who wish to experience Nature up close and recharge themselves away from stress and confusion. Each site is separate and away from others so as to offer privacy and a sense of place. Let me tell you about each site in numerical order as that is how you will find them listed. The sites have individual names as well as numbers so let’s start with site 1 SITE 1 Site number 1 is TANBARK On this site you will meet a Tanbark Oak Tree , she is young yet but will give you nice afternoon shade. She is called Tanbark because the bark of her kin was once used in curing raw hides into leather. The bark stripped from these trees was placed in a vat along with water and the strong Tannic Acid helped in curing the hides. Deeper into the canyons and below the driveway leading to the property you can see some of her Grandmothers, many times larger and older. Your tree is probably 50 years old while they are 200 or more years old. Note that this tree is one of several species of Evergreen Oaks that live on the property alone with other Oaks which are Deciduous and loose their leaves in the fall giving us a final golden show then. Your Tanbark isn’t showy at all and looks the same year round. She is a quiet tree and will see to your restful nights. SITE 2 DOGWOOD Shading your camp is a Pacific Dogwood tree, early in the year campers can enjoy her seasonal bloom but later you will have rosettes of Orange Red seed clusters for your pleasure. Dogwood will give you nice filtered shade and attractive bark patterns as well as fall colors as she prepares to shed her leaves for the winter. These leaves compost and add to the richness of the soil in the web of life in the Forrest and are important part of a healthy environment . This is an important function but was overlooked by Forest Management Specialists only a few years ago and Dogwoods were classed as WEED TREES, fortunately that attitude is changing and contemporary understanding sees the forest as a network of many beneficial exchanges. As part of this exchange let the soft rustle of Dogwood’s leaves lull you to blissful sleep on a peaceful night under her branches. SITE 3 This site is being redone. SITE 4 MADRONE Here you will camp next to a young Madrone tree with the dark green substantial leaves of an EVERGREEN tree. These leaves are meant to last through a few seasons so they are sturdy, thicker and a little waxy as compared to the leaves of a Dogwood tree for instance. Your Madrone is not large but from your camp you can see other larger ones, especially a group that grew up from the base of a long ago grandmother, now a mini grove. Madrone is a motherly tree and gives much to others, in the Spring clusters of little lantern like flowers which smell nice and and produce Nectar In the fall clusters of nutritious little fruits come on which look like mini Oranges and delight the Birds. On this small Ridge in addition to the trees you might find as I do a special quality, something that calls to the Spirit and I envision Native American people coming to this place to seek special understanding in times of stress or celebration. Mother Nature welcomes you here, rest well and enjoy special dreams. SITE 5 Greet the Sun. At site five you can see far over the river canyons to the top of The Sierra Crest, and early in the season, mountain sides of snow but at any time of year you may see the Sun come up over the the sharp outline of the Sierras Nevada Mountains. Depending on atmospheric conditions this can be quite dramatic as the day comes on back lighting the soft clouds that often gather above the high mountains. Such a great start for a day of exploring mountain trails or basking on the shore of the nearby Yuba River. SITE 6 The Hayfield, wait a minute where is the hay you might be thinking, well flash back to the year 1900 and you will see the hay, a whole hill top of it. It wouldn’t be the only Hayfield around for there were many others scattered through these hills. The Horse and Buggy era had it’s own negative Environmental impact. It took acres of land to produce enough hay to feed the Horses, Mules, and Oxen who did the work of moving people and freight from place to place, especially through these steep River Canyons. Think of it as mile per fork of hay or MPH you get the picture. Of course now the hay is gone and in it’s place tall Ponderosa Pines as well as many other tree Species inhabit this hill top. One can see here the rejuvinative capacity of Nature when give a chance, so there is yet hope. Sleep here where hay once grew and dream of positive change.Here the keen eye may see evidence of the many layers of human presence on this land, the Native Peoples presence was light but nearby an Acorn grinding rock, in the eighteen fifties Prospectors swarmed these hills and in the streams, large and small, left deep traces of their effort, the top of this hill was once known as "the wheat field'. Square nails and Horse Shoes sometimes turn up, cast offs of another time. The constant here has been the forest, the "wheat field" is gone without a trace and tall trees grow in old campsites. The list of species that thrive here is rather long, for in normal times, this was a prime area for trees and shrubs to grow in. Plant identification information is provided at camp. Learn more about this land: In a small clearing with tall Pines all around you may hear their song in the evening breeze, trees and hills mute other sounds in this isolated camp site. In addition to the Pines there are many other tree and plant species to enjoy. You're located in between the Yuba River and the New Bullards Bar Reservoir, so plenty of great access to water. The Ranch house where I live is a quarter of a mile away over a ridge or two and unseen in this quiet place. Deer and an occasional Bear may come by to see what you are doing in their forest. Back roads invite easy hiking while deep woods call the more adventurous. Please do not arrive after 8:00 pm unless you have coordinated a time with me prior to arrival. The sites are intended for tent camping so there is no access for camper vans except for very small ones.

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