Acorn to Satan's Cesspool plus

The hike from Acorn Creek to Satan’s Cesspool is an easy 7 mile round trip through grass lands and oak forests. Satan’s Cesspool is an impressive rapids reached via rocks that are sculpted into graceful shapes and not that hard to cross.

But wait, there’s more! I saw three unofficial side trails on the river side of the South Fork American River Trail in a satellite view that I wanted to try on the way home. The road to the river 3 miles from the Acorn Creek trailhead has a keep out sign on its gate. We took the other two that are about 2 miles from the Acorn Creek trailhead bringing the total mileage to 10. The side trips are after the Acorn Creek and South Fork American River trails meet, so you can get there from the South Fork American River trailhead at the river too. Both start out indistinctly in grass with no single entry point which makes them hard to notice. Soon they turn into unmaintained but well used trails.

The occasionally brushy trail along the ridge toward the river dead ends in dense brush without impressive enough views along the way to make it a priority. If there is a way to get a river canyon view we missed it.

The side trail to the river has great views on the way down and at the bottom which features a shallow side channel and a small rapids. Your results may vary at higher water levels. The trail is a former road with occasional brush and fallen trees that are easy to get past. Parts of this trail are about 20% grade which is noticeably steeper than the rest of the hike.

There were a few bikes with plenty of room for everyone.

The road to the large parking area is paved and there is a porta potty. There is no sign asking for fees or a collection box in the parking area but other posts say there is a $5 fee. I did not see any passes on the dashes of the other cars so I risked it.