QR Code Link to This Post L.E.D. (Lower Excelsior Ditch) This 20 acre claim a beautiful 30 minute walk out the very well maintained Independence Trail. The "Wheelchair access" friendly brings you directly onto this historically rich claim.  A short, (but very extreme) dirt road takes you to the same location via 4wheel drive in under 15 minutes.  This location is just a stone's throw from the "Miners Tunnel" at Hoyt's Crossing in Nevada City California. The old mining road has seen better days but a very capable 4wheel drive or any dirt bike with a motor can make short work of the roughly 2 miles of unimproved Excelsior Ditch Rd taking you to a flat staging area around 300 feet from the claim.  This location boast tailings piles of a yesteryear sure to impress any level of prospector. These tailing show the immense amount of work our mining ancestors performed here. It is truly astonishing!  Year-round water with easy to locate gold makes this as a perfect claim for the entry-level prospector interested in some beautiful local recreation coupled with just the right amount of access to keep you secluded, while "in town" still. Parking for this claim is just a quick 10 minute drive outside of historic Nevada City a small mountain town full of good food and great people. This claim will be ready to prospect 5-27-18.  Access is limited to foot trail or well built 4wheel drive vehicles, dirtbike, horseback, mountain bike...? Local recreation includes swimming and fishing in the Yuba River, just a short walk further down the trail. Mountain biking, ATV and motorcycle areas, walking trails, horse riding, camping, hunting, and mich MUCH more! Some history as found online:  "Like the Independence Trail West, the East trail follows the gentle gradient of an old mining ditch and is wheelchair accessible for one mile. It offers occasional views of the South Yuba River canyon and passes seasonal side streams and bogs. Tree cover and a generally northerly orientation keep the trail relatively cool and green for its 1400-1500 foot elevation. Along the trail are two picnic tables, several benches, and several wooden bridges that have replaced the flumes of yore. At 2 miles the trail ends at Excelsior Ditch Camp Road. At that point it connects to more rugged trails that lead to swimming holes along the river." "A bit of history: The Independence Trail was the first identified wheelchair accessible wilderness trail in the country. It utilizes the old Excelsior Ditch, built around 1859 to carry water for hydraulic mining. The ditch tapped the South Yuba River more than two miles upstream from here and it ran all the way to what is now the dam at Lake Wildwood, then by the China Ditch to the Smartsville mining district, 15 miles west of Grass Valley, CA. The trail includes views of another mining artifact: the Miners Tunnel. It was blasted through 800 feet of bedrock in the late 1870's to divert the flow of the South Yuba during summer months so miners could work the main river channel. Both ends of the tunnel are visible in this area, as described below. Trail tips: Much of this trail consists of two parallel paths, one in the ditch bottom, and the other on top of the ditch bank. The wheelchair-accessible path generally follows the ditch bottom for the first mile or so. (This stretch has muddy patches for a few days after wet weather. Walkers can hop on the ditch bank to bypass any mud, but wheelchair users don't have this option.) The trail crosses several seasonal streams and bogs on good bridges, converted from old flumes and recently rebuilt by the California Conservation Corps. Ferns and wildflowers, in season, thrive in the dappled light of the trail. At about 0.6 mile the trail passes under a huge boulder. In the second mile the trail features two picnic sites beside seasonal streams. At 2.0 miles the trail crosses an unmarked dirt road, Excelsior Ditch Camp Road. The Independence Trail continues along the old ditch for 0.2 mile. Along this 0.2 mile section are views, through the vegetation, of Hoyt's Crossing and the Miners Tunnel inlet about 200′ below. The trail dead-ends at a steep drop-off. From this point a steep, unmaintained use trail, festooned with poison oak, winds down to the river. A somewhat easier way to reach the river is to turn left on Excelsior Ditch Camp Road (not wheelchair accessible). After hiking about 400 feet along this road, you'll reach a "Hoyt's Crossing Day Use Area" sign where the road splits. Going left (west), the road continues 0.15 mile through a deeply rutted section to its end at a flat area near the Miners Tunnel outlet and sketchy trails to swimming holes. Going right (northeast) at the "Hoyt's Crossing Day Use Area" sign, the road promptly diminishes to trail, then becomes nebulous when it reaches a rocky, driftwood-strewn flat in 0.1 mile. Turning left, downstream, at the flat and hiking about 100 yards gives a close view of the Miners Tunnel inlet. Footing is difficult and poison oak is prevalent here." "Hydraulic Mining in the 1850's required large amounts of water for the giant water cannons (Monitors) used in washing away the mountain sides in search of gold. Water Company's were formed to supply the mines and in 1854 the Excelsior Canal Company was incorporated and by the 1860's was quite large through mergers with smaller company's and owned all of the water claims south of the South Fork of the Yuba River.  The Excelsior Canal Company merged with the Union Ditch Company which owned the "China Ditch" that provided Smartsville with water from Deer Creek. With a need for more water, the Excelsior Canal Company extended the existing "China Ditch" to around 30 miles by building the 17 mile long "Excelsior Ditch" to obtain water from the Yuba River. After hydraulic mining was outlawed in the 1880's the "Excelsior Ditch" was used for agricultural irrigation until it was abandoned in 1963. In 1969, John Olmsted rediscovered the the rock-lined ditches, adjacent paths for ditch tenders, and wooden flumes that provided access over ravines.  John took on the task of rebuilding the "Excelsior Ditch" into wilderness trail for his friend who dreamed of a trail where he could see and touch wildflowers from his wheelchair." If you are in the area please stop in and see us or check us out online at brodec.biz  Conviniently located at 17311 Penn Valley Drive, Penn Valley Ca. 95946 above Plaza Tire. If we aren't in the office we are likely in the field locating so come on in and let us show you your new gold mining claim in person! *Disclaimer* Here at Brodec Location Services we strongly recommend you are versed in all local & state laws as well as research the area you intend to purchase a claim. Some of these areas are very remote as well, some are subject to sever weather conditions & road closures. Please note: All of our claims are recorded with the Bureau of Land Management as well as any & all local clerk recorders. All claims are paid through the current mining year & transfers will include a copy of the original location notice. All claims will be transferred the day of sale via "Quit Claim Deed" releasing 100% of Brodec's interest to the purchaser. You are making an investment in your future through the purchase of this "real property" & we urge you make your decision based off verifiable data. We appreciate your loyalty. To all of our clients, thank you!