State Scenic Highway 20 20

State Scenic Highway 20 climbs from Nevada City to Emigrant Gap in the Sierra Nevada, part of the Yuba-Donner National Forest Scenic Byway. This western section of the longer 245-mile Highway 20, which otherwise runs all the way to the Pacific at Fort Bragg, follows Harmony Ridge and Washington Ridge before descending into Bear Valley through a series of hairpin turns and climbing again to meet Interstate 80 at Yuba Pass. Emigrant Gap itself, a steep 5,200-foot drop in the terrain, forced 19th-century wagon parties to lower their loads by rope; the first crossing came in 1845 with the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party, the first group to bring wagons over the Sierra Nevada. The Pioneer Trail, a National Recreation Trail following part of the historic California Trail, parallels the highway from Harmony Ridge into Bear Valley for hikers who want to walk the route wagon trains once struggled over. Granite outcrops, conifer forest, and sweeping ridge views define the modern drive.

• Nevada City to Emigrant Gap
• Yuba-Donner National Forest Scenic Byway
• Harmony and Washington Ridges
• Emigrant Gap (5,200 ft)
• Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party (1845)
• Pioneer Trail (National Recreation Trail)