American River, North Fork - Royal Gorge (Soda Springs to Tadpole Creek)

Take the Soda Springs exit off of I-80 just west of Donner's Summit.  Follow the Soda Springs dirt road south until it eventually crosses the North Fork of the American.  This is your starting point to an epic float.

Trail is on river left and follows the drainage to the south the trailhead on Forrest Hill Road.  A lot of boaters simply continue on down river through generation and giant gaps.

This is the first of the big falls that make up the Royal Flush.  The height of this drop is about 45 feet.  A turbulent sliding rapid leads into Upper Heath.

Scout above the drop-in rapid on river left.  Safety can also be set here as there isn't much room from the base of the falls to the Lower Heath Drop.

This drop is around 55 feet and is slightly bigger than the falls up river.  The bottom of this drop has a cave/grotto area that could be an issue for swimmers or boaters not on top of things.  This is especially hazardous at higher flows.  Setup safety appropriately.

Scout river left.  Typically scouted when you scout the upper falls.

This drop is just below the hikers bridge and also near the typical 1st night's camp.  Height is around 55 feet.

Scouting, filming, safety and/or portaging can be done on river left.

This is a double drop with each drop being about 50 feet in height for a total of 100 feet.  This is the crux of the Royal Gorge.

Scout, portage and setup what safety you can from river left.

This is around a 70 foot waterfall.  

Mainly used by back country back packers.  If you're running the Royal Gorge, this makes a good first night camp.