First Sunday Featured Side Ride:
Wentworth Springs - Mosquito Ridge Side Ride
First Sunday Featured Side Ride:
Get on US50 East bound; get off at the next exit (Exit 37); left at the
light at the end of the off ramp, right on North Shingle Road on the other
side of the freeway. The map below shows the details of this transition:
Continue on North Shingle Road to Green Valley, Lotus Road interchange.
The map below shows this transition:
Continue north on Lotus Road to junction with CA49 (stop sign). Turn left
on CA49, cross American River and go to next stop sign. Turn right on Marshall
Grade Road and continue on through Garden Valley. Marshall Grade Road takes
a sharp left at the end of the main street in Garden Valley. Continue on
Marshall Grade Road through a lovely set of twisties to the stop sign in
Georgetown.
Turn right at that stop sign, go to the next stop sign (100 feet) and continue
on through it. You are now on the Georgetown main street which is also
Wentworth Springs Road. The map below shows the detail:
Continue on Wentworth Springs, past Stumpy Meadows Reservoir, to the junction
with Forest Service Road 2. The sign points to French Meadows Reservoir
to the left. Turn left at that point.
Continue on this Forest Service road, following the signs for French Meadows
Reservoir. Portions of this road get very narrow and very rough. Almost
as bad, in spots, as the Lost Coast route but not quite. And it is VERY
winding. The corners are not marked at all so be CAREFUL; they can sneak
up on you.
Upon reaching French Meadows Reservoir, we will stop for a butt break.
When we leave French Meadows Reservoir, we will cross the dam and be on
Mosquito Ridge Road at that point. We will continue on Mosquito Ridge Road
back to Foresthill. At the stop sign in Foresthill, turn left onto Foresthill
Road.
Continue on Foresthill Road. If you reach the Foresthill high bridge, you
have gone too far. The turnoff onto Old Foresthill Road sneaks up on you.
Turn left onto Old Foresthill Road. It is marked and there is a left turn
lane but I missed it today as I was approaching it. Had to make a U turn
and come back.
At the bottom of Old Foresthill Road, you cross the American River on a
bridge. Just beyond it is a turn to the left onto another bridge; that
is CA49. Turn left onto CA49. The map below shows this interchange:
After climbing out of the American River Canyon on CA49, we will go through
the town of Cool. Don't ask. I have no idea how it was named. :-)
There is a stop sign in Cool. Continue straight on through it. 12 miles
later, or so, we will encounter the same stop sign at Marshall Grade Road
that we went through on the way out. Continue straight through that one
too, cross the river and at the next stop sign, turn right. You are now
on Lotus Road, heading back for US50 and the motel.
Go back through the Lotus Road, Green Valley Road interchange (the road
swings to the right). After crossing a small bridge, the road turns left.
At that point you are on North Shingle Road. Four miles down the road,
you will reach a stoplight. Turn left there and immediately swing to the
right to get onto the US50 westbound on ramp. The next exit is Cameron
Park Drive and that is where we get off to return to the motel. The detail
to the motel is shown in the map below:
End of first Sunday side ride.