Read. Write. Listen. Create.

What started out as a day trip to go see the super bloom turned into a family outing to the South Yuba River State Park to see the Bridgeport Covered Bridge. My grandmother and great aunt came along in the touring van as we stopped at one of our favorite wineries the day before in Placerville.

We’ve been going to Lava Cap Winery for years now and they have a nice selection of wines. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I went with the rosé. We hung out and had a picnic and wine. What a relaxing day! The next day we were off to the state park.

The covered bridge has recently reopened after preservation. “Constructed in 1862 by the Virginia Turnpike Company, the Bridgeport covered bridge located at the South Yuba River State Park in western Nevada County is the only remaining single-span covered bridge of this size in the nation” (parks.ca.gov).

The bridge is now only open to pedestrians and wheelchair users. There is even a strip of padding on the left side of the bridge that doesn’t make the surface as bumpy for a more comfortable ride across the bridge, but either side and even the middle is wheelchair friendly. The padding strip is over wooden planks and the middle and right side of the bridge are non-covered wooden planks as shown in the first photo. The surfaces around the park are grass and hard packed dirt with gravel. It was bumpy, but that’s to be expected. The surface inside the barn was smooth, but you’ll have to pass over some bigger pieces of gravel to get in.

The bridge was closed to vehicular traffic in 1972. It is California Registered Historical Landmark Number 390. “The bridge was an important link in a freight-hauling route that stretched from the San Francisco Bay to Virginia City, Nevada and points beyond after the discovery of the Comstock Lode in 1859 sparked a mining boom in Nevada” (Wikipedia).

There is also a 1927 Shell gas station that has been restored at the park. The restoration was broken down into three phases: “the accurate reconstruction of the original structure and its exterior; restoration of the Kneebone store; and transformation of the garage area into an interpretive center” (southyubariverstatepark.org). We didn’t go inside, but I love the outside of it with the old Shell sign.

A barn is located on the park’s property as well. It was built around the same time as the bridge and was built in the Dutch style. “It served several functions including animal stalls and pens, hay storage loft, storage of farm equipment, and repairs to the wagons” (southyubariverstatepark.org).

Visiting this park was a fun way to tour through gold country. We drove through Coloma on the way and even though we didn’t stop, it was another place added to the list of places to visit some day. We’ve been coming to the Sacramento and Placerville area for years and it’s been great finding new places to explore.

As a snack on the way home, we stopped at Crazy 4 Yogurt in Penn Valley. They have Dole Whip but I went with the Euro Tart with chocolate covered raisins on top. They also have peach, chocolate, and vanilla frozen yogurt with a whole bunch of toppings as well as sandwiches, coffee, bagels, pastries, soups, and biscuits and gravy. Quite a selection! It was a fun way to end the day.