Many of Auburn's neighborhoods are hidden behind hills and cloaked in canyons, like the informal tracts on the northeast side of town.
Tucked into deep ravines and perched on knobby knolls, clusters of one-of-a-kind bungalows, ranch houses, lodges and cottages are wedged among oak woodlands and fir forests. Between the Bowman district and Downtown Auburn, there are several residential pockets, many with paths trailing down into the gorge holding the North Fork of the American River.
A few miles east of Auburn, at the western hem of Bowman, Russell Road takes off southeast of Lincoln Way. Leaving service stations, stores and shops behind, it bends past country homes on acreage and abodes on split lots before descending the wooded-canyon walls toward the river.
Russell Road continues to curl through the mountains, with narrow lanes and private driveways veering off to reach homes concealed by a blend of natural and manmade landscaping. The thick stands of trees and undulating terrain give this territory a rugged ambiance, although neon-lit stores and highway traffic are just a few miles away.
Where Russell Road turns into Foresthill Avenue, a small parking lot marks access to one of the trails leading into the Auburn State Recreation Area (ASRA). Once the stagecoach route to Foresthill, this trace linked Auburn to the Gold Rush camps on the southeast side of the river.
Dubbed the Stagecoach Trail, it now offers bicyclists and hikers a four-mile round-trip walk that is easy on the way down, and a moderately difficult climb out. But the scenery makes it worth the effort, with views of the confluence of the North and Middle forks of the river, as well as the Highway 49 bridge; the smaller North Fork span; and the historic Mountain Quarry Bridge.
The Stagecoach Trail links to the Lake Clementine Trail and crosses the Confluence Trail, which parallels the Middle Fork all the way to Mammoth Bar. Some trekkers coordinate with other hikers, rendezvousing at one end of the trail for a ride back to their starting point.
Three older bridges have spanned the American River near this locale in the past 150 years. Today, Foresthill Road tops the newest Foresthill Bridge, which is situated about one mile east of this crossing point.
Once reported as the third-highest bridge in the nation, the 730-foot-high conduit was placed to tower above the future reservoir formed by the anticipated Auburn dam. Although work on the dam was stopped due to earthquake safety concerns, the lofty bridge spanning the North Fork was completed in 1973.
Foresthill Road continues toward Downtown Auburn, with more custom homes sharing odd-sized parcels amid thickets of oak and pine. The homes grow closer together as the avenue ascends to meet the fringes of the Aeolia Heights and Alta Vista subdivisions.
Across the canyon to the south is Robie Point, a fist of land jabbing out into the canyon.
This hilly bluff was named for the late Wendell Robie, an Auburn businessman who was an avid outdoorsman and expert horseman who worked on the identification and preservation of the Emigrant Road. Due in large part to his efforts, portions of that historic path now are part of the Western States Trail, an equestrian and marathon course that originates 100 miles away in Squaw Valley.
Like Russell Road and Aeolia Heights, many of the homes on Robie Point border the ASRA and its spider web of trails, including portions of the Western States route.
An accomplished downhill skier, Robie also lobbied for the construction of an all-weather course up the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. A founding member of the Auburn Ski Club and California Ski Association, he and other outdoor enthusiasts were instrumental in making Highway 40 an all-season freeway, clearing the way for development of Placer County's high country and its fledgling ski industry.
Like all of the dwellings in the southwest side of the city, homes on Robie Point are an eclectic mix of grand old estates, contemporary lodges and quirky cabins, many overlooking the American River or the shaggy canyons that contain it.
Just out of sight from main thoroughfares, these tracts hold plenty of hidden treasures.
