The Douglas City Watershed Trail is a hike known primarily by locals, anglers, and rafters. This trail sets out from the Douglas City Day Use area next to the Douglas City Volunteer Fire Station. The Douglas City Day Use area is open May - December. This trail experiences moderate foot traffic and is an easy, 0.5-mile, out-and-back trail. It features abundant wildflowers and blackberries in the spring and summer, along with spectacular views of the azure-blue, rushing Trinity River.
The trail is both child-friendly and dog-friendly, but it is not wheelchair accessible. There are a few ups and downs, but largely, the trail is easily navigable as long as you follow the creek. There are no markers along the way and no restrooms or water fountains. The destination for this trail is one of several wading pools that are only accessible (and existent!) in the spring and summer. River levels and the different currents of the Trinity River and the incoming Weaver Creek alter every year - so last year's blackberry and dipping pool may be completely different in the following year. Bring chairs, blankets, food, and beverages and enjoy a picnic listening to the babbling brook and the distant roar of the Trinity River.
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Douglas City is an unincorporated town in Trinity County, California. Trinity County is a rural, mountainous expanse of 3,208 square miles, much of which is part of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. There are no traffic lights within the entire county, which has a population of under 14,000 residents. One of three counties that make up the "Emerald Triangle" (Humboldt, Trinity, and Mendocino), Trinity is known primarily for summer recreation, including fishing, hiking, mountain-biking, and boating.
The area of Trinity County was inhabited by Native Americans of the Wintu and the Karuk people before the arrival of Euro-Americans. The local residents of Douglas City were called the Tien-Tien, meaning "friends." In nearby Hayfork, there was a conflict in 1852 that led to the massacre of over 150 Wintu people in the Bridge Gulch massacre.
Douglas City is largely considered a ghost town, with only one general country store, a rural post office, and a partially-retired motel. Next to the entrance to the trail by the fire department, you'll see an old wooden water tower, one of the few remains of the Douglas City that was long ago a hub of gold-mining activity.
Gold was discovered in Trinity County by Major Pearson B. Reading in 1848 at the Trinity River in Douglas City, which was then known as Kanaka Bar. By 1864, the gold mines around Douglas City produced over $1 million in gold. Remnants of hydraulic mining can still be seen across this area.
