The Long Way
Tuolumne County
A fast-flowing river rapids surrounded by rocks and sparse trees.
Plate I. South Fork Tuolumne River, Rainbow Pool Day Use Area. From alltrails.com
A river flows through a forested mountain landscape with tall pine trees.
Plate II. South Fork Tuolumne River, Rainbow Pool Day Use Area. From alltrails.com

Rainbow Pool Day Use Area

Groveland, Tuolumne County, California. Day Use Area; typically May through September.

Details

Map. Groveland, Tuolumne County, California. Larger map
Where
Groveland, Tuolumne County, CA. No street address stated. Directions
When
Day Use Area only.
Getting there
Along Highway 120 at the South Fork Tuolumne River bridge.
Fees
Day Use: $10 per vehicle per day.
Access
No alcoholic beverages or overnight camping. No garbage service; pack it in, pack it out.
Phone
209-532-3671
Managed by
American Land & Leisure operates Rainbow Pools Day Use during the summer (typically May through September) and charges the following fee: $10.00 per car.
Established
1958.
Coordinates
37.822615, -120.014185.

Along Highway 120 at the South Fork Tuolumne River bridge. Originally a toll stop in the stagecoach days, later a popular resort until 1958 when fire burned the resort. Now, a popular picnic area. Vault toilets, limited parking.

Notable Events

  1. 1860sCharles Elwell built a watering stop at Colfax Spring west of Rainbow Pool. yosemitechamber.org
  2. 1915Cox's toll-keeper career ended when the road became free under transfer to Tuolumne County. yosemitechamber.org
  3. 1931Lumsden's covered bridge was replaced by a timber truss bridge. yosemitechamber.org
  4. 1934Flood waters destroyed the first Cliff House. yosemitechamber.org
  5. 1934Tuolumne County transferred the route to the state. yosemitechamber.org
  6. 1935The Bartletts rebuilt a two-story hotel. yosemitechamber.org
  7. 1939The resort burned to the ground in 1939, and a smaller one-story lodge replaced it by 1940. yosemitechamber.org
  8. 1940sGary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman stayed at the hotel while filming For Whom the Bell Tolls. yosemitechamber.org
  9. 1947First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt stopped to dine after a Yosemite visit and stayed overnight. yosemitechamber.org
  10. 1958A fire destroyed the second Cliff House, ending the resort; it was never rebuilt. yosemitechamber.org
  11. 1960sHighway 120 was realigned over a new high bridge, and the old road became access to the renamed Forest Service Rainbow Pool Day Use area. yosemitechamber.org
  12. 1997Flood waters collapsed the timber truss bridge in 1997, and a new bridge replaced it in 2000. yosemitechamber.org

People

  • Nellie Bartlett and William “Tug” Wilson, resort founders and operators (34 years from 1924).
  • Charles Elwell, builder of the Colfax Spring watering stop (mid 1860s).
  • James Lumsden, builder of the covered bridge above Rainbow Pool's waterfall.
  • John Cox, solitary toll collector who built a cabin at the bridge (20 years).

Sources

  1. fs.usda.gov/r05/stanislaus/recreation/rainbow-pool-day-use-area
  2. fs.usda.gov/r05/stanislaus/alerts/rainbow-pool-area-alcohol-prohibition
  3. fs.usda.gov/r05/stanislaus/recreation/hwy-120-groveland-ranger-district
  4. fs.usda.gov/r05/stanislaus/recreation/rainbow-pool-day-use-area
  5. yosemitechamber.org/post/a-stop-on-the-big-oak-flat-road-rainbow-pool
  6. yosemitechamber.org/post/a-stop-on-the-big-oak-flat-road-part-2-remembering-the-cliff-house