Canyon Creek is a major tributary of the

South Yuba River The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 10, 2011 South Yuba River is a left-entering tributary of the Yuba River originating in the northern Sierra Nevada at Lake Ang ...

in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. It begins at Baltimore Lake at an elevation of 7,184 feet, roughly 10.8 miles west-northwest of

Donner Pass Donner Pass is a mountain pass in the northern Sierra Nevada, above Donner Lake and Donner Memorial State Park about west of Truckee, California. Like the Sierra Nevada themselves, the pass has a steep approach from the east and a gradual appr ...

in the

Tahoe National Forest Tahoe National Forest is a United States National Forest located in California, northwest of Lake Tahoe. It includes the peak of Sierra Buttes, near Sierra City, which has views of Mount Lassen and Mount Shasta. It is located in parts of six co ...

Nevada County, California Nevada County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the Sierra Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 102,241. The county seat is Nevada City. Nevada County comprises the Truckee- Grass Valley, CA Micropolit ...

Course

After leaving its headwaters at Baltimore Lake, an alpine glacial lake, it flows due north for less than a mile and enters French Lake Reservoir — a man-made lake created by French Lake Dam, which was first constructed in 1859, reconstructed in 1948, and is managed by the Nevada Irrigation District. After flowing 1.2 miles to the northwest below the dam, Canyon Creek enters its second man-made reservoir — Faucherie Lake. Then, 1.4 miles further northwest, it enters the third of four man-made reservoirs, this time Sawmill Lake, before continuing another mile to the northwest and entering the largest of the four man-made reservoirs — Bowman Lake. Canyon Creek then proceeds to plunge nearly 3,000 feet in elevation in just 9.1 miles through a steep canyon before its mouth at the South Yuba River at an elevation of 2,800 feet just 2.6 miles due east of the town of

Washington, California Washington (originally, Indiana Camp) is a census-designated place located in Nevada County, California. Washington is located on the banks of the South Fork of the Yuba River and has a population of approximately two hundred people. There is a h ...

Recreation

It's during this steep, nine-mile section that Canyon Creek is used for recreation in the form of whitewater kayaking. A 2.4 mile Class IV to V run begins at an old bridge site on Arctic Mine Road and treks southwest until its confluence with the South Yuba. The run is functional when flows from Bowman Dam are between 250 and 350 cubic feet per second. There are dozens of campgrounds for recreational use along Bowman Road during the summer months, and fishing is popular at each of the four man-made lakes, as well as Baltimore Lake.

References

{{coord, 39.36101, -120.75012, type:river_region:US-CA, format=dms, display=title Yuba River Rivers of Yuba County, California Rivers of Nevada County, California