Two hikes found in remote corners of the Auburn State Recreation Area offer visitors solitude and scenic dramatic views of the North Fork of the American River canyon.

Windy Point Trail and Codfish Creek Falls Trail are located on the edge of the northeast boundary of the recreation area, outside the towns of Colfax and Weimar.

Access to the trails requires driving down twisty, sometimes bumpy roads, but the trips are worthwhile if you want to escape the crowds.

“You get the feeling there may not have been anyone on the trail in several weeks,” said State Park Ranger Jonathan Brandt.

Windy Point

Outside of the town of Colfax, locals favor the crossing on Iowa Hill Road for its swim holes, accessible white water “put in” below the bridge and campground. A short distance up the road, will take the lonely hiker away from the bustle of the crossing to an old miner's trail known as Windy Point.

A 1.5-mile moderate to difficult trail skirts the side of the steep river canyon twisting with oak trees and craggy rock outcrops. Watch out for loose rock and be wary of mountain lions. The wild cats are regularly spotted on the trail.

To the north, look for the “Cape Horn” section of the first Transcontinental Railroad.

Below, in the green, turbulent water, thrill-seeking kayakers may be seen rushing past moss-covered granite walls in their bright vessels.

The American River provides some of the most popular and challenging kayaking and rafting courses in the state. Over 30 different private outfitters are licensed to guide white water trips on the river.

For those who enjoy hiking in the Sierra Nevada in the summer months, the lower elevations of the Auburn Recreation Area offer year round trails.

“We're still below the snow line here,” Brandt said.

Codfish Creek Falls

Near the bridge on Ponderosa Way, six miles south of Weimar, men keep to themselves as they dig in the sand and gravel at the water's edge, panning for gold. The small community of Weimar is named after a Maidu Indian chief.

Follow the trail along the river. On the opposite bank, mounds of cobble tailings speak of an era when commercial gold mining reshaped the land.

“It's the main reason there's towns like Auburn here, that were completely centered around the Gold Rush,”

Follow the easy 1.7-mile trail as it dips into the shaded forest of madrone, Ponderosa Pine, grey pine, canyon live oak, interior live oak, black oak and Douglas fir. Listen for the creek as you emerge into the sun again at a 40-foot waterfall, a nice place to stop for a picnic.

Soon, the warmer, drier days of spring will trigger wildflowers to explode in colorful bloom as they release their seeds for another season.

Poison oak grows profusely so be careful if you stray of trail.

Auburn State Recreation Area

Stretching for 40 miles along the North and Middle forks of the American River, the Auburn State Recreation Area encompasses land set aside for the Auburn Dam.

Mostly owned by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation and managed for public safety under contract by California State Parks, the area attracts 900,000 mostly metropolitan visitors a year for recreation such as hiking, rafting, equestrian riding and mountain bicycling.

If the 1970's era-planned dam were ever to be constructed, much of the steep canyon's trails would be submerged underwater and Class II, III and IV kayak and raft runs would be lost.

Public outcry has made such a decision unpopular politically in the past, but as demand for water storage grows in coming years, water agencies could turn to the dam building proposition again.

“They don't want to take it off the table,” Brandt said. If the bureau throws out the dam idea entirely they could sell the property to the state or pass it on to the federal Bureau of Land Management, an agency stretched thinner than the Department of Fish and Game, Brandt said.

A 2006 report re-examining dam construction showed “significant uncertainty” regarding the magnitude of environmental, cultural and recreational mitigations not to mention relocation of major roads like Highway 49.

“Realistically it's probably not going to happen in our lifetime,” Brandt said.

Laura Brown is a freelance writer based in Grass Valley. Contact her at (530) 401-4877.

ON THE WEB

• Auburn State Recreation Area: www.parks.ca.gov

• Canyon Keepers

A volunteer group that offers hikes and trail maintenance has a list of trail guides and upcoming guided hikes on their website: http://members

.psyber.com/asra/