Trail Notes: No Hands Bridge

View of No Hands looking south Auburn side.
In the late 1960's, after a "modern" highway bridge just upstream washed out in a major flood. No Hands served for months as the only direct link between Auburn and Cool. The rails shown were added for safety while a new highway bridge was being built.

No Hands Bridge was closed in the Spring of 1996 due to erosion of the center pier's footing, shown here. It was reopened for limited use in late December, 1997, following successful stabilizing repairs. During September and October, 1999, the bridge was closed again briefly for final repairs. No Hands Bridge has been open without restriction to foot traffic, bicyclists and equestrians since late 1998.

After crossing the bridge there is a mild upward grade along the former rail route that parallels the river. The rails and the trestles that once spanned the creek ravines are long gone, having been salvaged for the War effort in the 1940's. After about two miles the trail leaves the railbed and climbs to cross Robie Point. Within another two miles you at the Finish Line, the Western States Trail Staging Area near the Gold Country Fairgrounds.

A History of No Hands Bridge

In the early 1900s the Pacific Portland Cement Company built a special railroad line that connected their limestone quarry operation with the westbound Southern Pacific main line in Auburn, California. "Mountain Quarry," as it was called, is located in El Dorado County four miles east of Auburn, along the Middle and North Forks of the American River, near Junction Bar, in Placer County. The high grade limestone was transported by rail for use in the manufacturing of cement and the refining of sugar.

The Mountain Quarry Cement Bridge, later known as "No Hands Bridge," was completed on March 23, 1912, by 600 men working on the Placer County side and 200 more on the E1 Dorado side to the tune of $300,000. At the time of its construction the bridge was the longest concrete arch bridge in the world. The building of this structure proved that concrete was practical for building long bridges. Although it was plagued by various problems during construction , the span was considered a great piece of railroad bridge engineering.

The old cement bridge stands today as a proud monument to early-day engineering and the men who built it. The bridge has withstood the tugging of the American River currents for over 80 years and stayed on its footings when the Hell Hole Dam broke in December 1964 and took out two modern bridges upstream. It also withstood the so-called "Valentines Day Flood" of 1986, which submerged the bridge before destroying a 250-foot earth-filled coffer dam two miles down river.

The cement bridge has served as a landmark since the railroad went out of service in the 1940s. It did, however, serve a purpose shortly after the Hell Hole dam flood. The dam, located some 40 miles upstream, brought millions of tons of thundering water down the Middle Fork. The force of the water tore out the newer concrete-and-steel highway bridge nearby that linked Auburn with Cool and Georgetown. But the cement railroad bridge survived and was quickly pressed into temporary service to restore vehicle traffic between the two counties.

The rail route's 15 trestles and lines of tracks were removed in the 1940s: the metal and other materials were used in the war effort.

Today, a portion of the old rail route is designated as the Western States Pioneer Express Recreation Trail, in accordance with the National Trails System Act. It is primarily used by horsemen, runners and hikers. The name "no hands" came from veteran rider, Ina Robinson, who would drop her reins to ride across the then guardrail-less bridge. The bridge now stands as the "gateway to Auburn" and the final American River crossing of the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Ride and Run.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the California State Parks Department administer the Auburn State Recreation Area, which includes No Hands Bridge.