Managed by the USDA Forest Service, its 17.000 acres and 140 miles of shoreline offer boating, swimming, fishing, camping, picnicking, hunting and hiking. For more information contact the Weaverville Ranger District or Trinity County Chamber of Commerce. The miners who came to the Trinity River in the late 1800's and early 1900's washed away whole mountains with hydraulic monitors. Their powerful jets continuously sprayed huge streams of water against the side of a hill in the search for gold. Miners also built large, floating gold factories called bucket line dredges that dug up entire river valleys.
Mining still occurs along the river.
The preferred method is suction dredging. You may see modern miners at work in the Trinity River as you travel along. Miners today work with three different agencies in their search for gold. The Bureau of Land Management manages the minerals ,the Forest Service the land where the minerals are found, and the State of California, the waterways. You can, too.