Purdon Crossing is a 3.5 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near North San Juan, California that features a river and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from April until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
Note: Bridgeport Bridge area and parking remain closed during bridge construction project
January 30, 2021Narrow trail in some areas- use caution with small kids
January 16, 2021People breaking into cars happens all the time. Also if you go during summer no camping in day use area a local will correct you and certain beaches are for families if you wanna go naked go find a spot without people
January 1, 2021Nice easy trail along a river. Can go further.
December 28, 2020Great and beautiful place. Some strange people who seem to maybe love around the area, though. Would definitely recommend it.
December 10, 2020December 6, 2020Some loose rocks amd a couple fallen trees we went from purdon crossing to edwards crossing which showed 4.4 miles was closer to 5. 9.3 total miles
November 30, 2020November 7, 2020Absolutely beautiful. Fall is the time to go. The leaves changing was the prettiest part. Fairly easy trail. Highly recommend
October 17, 2020September 30, 2020Great hike with some amazing swimming holes along the whole trail. Great option for those that are new to hiking or want a less challenging workout.
September 24, 2020September 6, 2020July 16, 2020Great place !
July 12, 2020Great hike, great swimming spots. This is a clothing optional area
July 4, 2020Did this trail for the Fourth of July. It’s fairly easy but can be narrow in spots. Be careful as there is a lot of poison oak on the trail. You parallel the river for about 3/4 of the way. The last half a mile or so has a fairly steep climb. Several spots allow you to go down to the rivers edge. Once the runoff has slowed in the spring there are many nice swimming areas.
June 8, 2020Great hike, shady and with the river flanking the trail. The drive is a little windy and the last 5 minutes before you get there is on a gravel road. Some parts of the trail narrows and there is quite a bit of poison oak. I loved the ups and downs and the river is glorious.
April 17, 2020Rockslide about 1.5 miles into the trail. Could not complete
March 26, 2020This was a beautiful trail. We went in March. Lots of little waterfalls and wild flowers. Perfect little getaway.
October 12, 2019Great conditions and great views with lots of shade. Trail was well-maintained and clear, though there were a couple of downed trees where the trail had been slightly rerouted. Weather was perfect in mid-October. DId this hike as an out and back. Explored a bit of the other side of the river (across the bridge) once I reached Purdon. Spent the night about a mile from Purdon Crossing a little way past the day use area (overnight camping is not allowed in the areas marked for day use at the beginning and end of this trail). A few other people camping on the river but by no means crowded. I'd say that is based on it being pretty late in the year. Got down in the low 40s at night but was prepared with layers so I kept plenty warm. Not too crowded. Only met one kind of sketchy looking individual on the trail in the Private Property crossing area who was carrying a pick axe and gold panning tools, but he seemed more or less harmless. About four carloads of people showed up looking for fun on the river when I returned to the car on Sunday. This leads me to believe that while this hike seems like it could be a lot of fun during the summer (with lots of great swimming holes) I'd be willing to bet the place is generally overrun and too crowded for a peaceful backpacking trip during the summer months.
August 11, 2019Jogged up the trail 2 mi, then swam/floated/scrambled down river 3 mi back to the start (river distance is always 30-50% more)
April 16, 2019This is one of my favorite hikes in the area. Beware we came back with dog and deer ticks on ourselves and the dogs. The creek at the waterfall is high and hard to get through.
April 1, 2019This was a nice flat trail along the river. I observed people strolling, jogging, and walking their dogs (though there were many signs prohibiting dogs). In order to get to the river you must go off-trail though there are a few side trails which take you to the river. I gave 4 stars because getting to this trail was quite the slow ride due to the primitive roads. The roads started out with many steep turns but it was paved. After traveling for a few miles, the road was gravel. About a half mile later it degraded to a pothole infested dirt road. I found myself driving 10 mph to avoid the potholes and jutting rocks. Quite honestly, there are many other trails along the river which are just as nice and much easier to access. Another interesting feature was most of the trail I was on went through private land. I was reluctant to hike too far in because of this. The views by the river were breathtaking and from what I observed, the trails were not crowded. Oh, one last thing, beware nude sunbathers. I unintentionally spied 3!
February 16, 2019this trail is much longer then what you see. I had to turn back because I didn't want to cross the waterfall since I was hiking alone but I still enjoyed some great views and you can get right down to the river as well as enjoy a great overview. I'll definitely be back to finish getting to the other bridge.
July 18, 2017Pretty good places to swim water is emerald green could have a bit of fun tubing as well
June 3, 2017
First to ReviewA wonderful out and back trail. It's about 4.5 miles to the next River Crossing. It's in full shade and it's wonderful up-and-down's. You'll get a work out no matter what your fitness level in. Many people use it for trail running. Lots of opportunities for nude sunbathing, bongo drumming and pot smoking too.
February 5, 2021January 30, 2021
