Yuba
Watershed
~ Nevada City
Drinking Water Tour

Yuba River Watershed Witness Tour Yuba River Watershed Witness Tour Yuba River Watershed Witness Tour
Yuba River Watershed Witness Tour
from $80.00

Beginning our tour among the Yuba headwaters, where precious snowmelts are preserved for drinking water, we’ll check out recent repairs on crucial infrastructure within the heart of this complex canal system.

Once we pour down the mountain towards Nevada City, we’ll re-meet our water at Scotts Flat reservoir and the Elizabeth George Water Treatment Plant, before curving towards two further forks of the Yuba, each with unique ecologies and senses of place.

Finally, touring the lowland impacts still lingering from the era when this river smashed mountains in pursuit of gold, we’ll tuck into the foothills and camp overnight at Lake Englebright amidst a sweet cove only accessible by party barge.

Car-caravan with carpools encouraged. Dinner and breakfast provided ~ please bring everything else you’ll need for a day tour and/or an overnight camping trip on a lake.

Partial tour options, scholarships, and customizable food options available.

Itinerary, route, and tour details provided after registration.

Feel free to reach out any time with questions or clarifications ~ joshua@watershedwitness.com


The Yuba ~ is there a more
magical river in these mountains?

On this Watershed Witness Tour,
we’ll celebrate rematriation,
imagining the rebounding
profound depths and breadths
of magic the Nisenan tended ~

before the Yuba
became the first river
strangled through a cannon,
smashing its own mountain,
thirsty for gold ~

We’ll learn how increasing
impositions on the Yuba
for the sake of drinking water,
agricultural needs, energy generation,
and flood control ~ create one of
the most complex water systems
in the country ~ while hopefully
protecting this area from the worst
challenges of climate chaos.

Fall 2025 marked the
re-supply of drinking water
into Scotts Flat Reservoir,
replenishing water shortages
caused by catastrophic failures
of headwater powerhouses and canals
at Lake Spaulding in 2024

Summer 2026 continues
reconstruction after the rupture
and rescues at Colgate Penstock,
mudslides and debris
pouring downstream
into Englebright Lake.
Fortunately, cleanup
moved quickly,
but rebuilding takes time.

Including a drive of around 3hrs,
both gorgeous and informative locations
along each of three Yuba River forks,
we’ll experience the embedded
cultures of caretaking emerging
throughout the river here,
and check ongoing repairs of
these fragile water arteries
the entire Yuba region relies on.



Places Our Tour Caravan
may visit along the Yuba:

~ Angkula Seo Suspension Bridge

~ Scotts Flat Dam

~ Dredger Ponds

~ Englebright Dam

~ Longest Covered Bridge





~ New Bullards Bar Dam

~ Our House Dam

~ Lake Spaulding

~ Emerald Pools

~ Headwater Lakes

~ The Elizabeth George WTP