‘No Hands Bridge’ in Auburn is undergoing repairs. Here’s why and when it will be closed

The “No Hands” Bridge will be closed during the week until late October.

The Auburn State Recreation Area announced the popular bridge over the American River just off El Dorado Street in Auburn will be undergoing repairs to its railing on Monday through Friday through October 20, but the bridge will be accessible on weekends.

“The closure is for the protection of the public and work crew at Auburn State Recreation Area and will expire at 5:00 p.m. on Oct. 20, 2023, at which time the area identified will return to normal hours,” Golden Fields Superintendent Steven M. Hilton wrote in an order.

The “No Hands Bridge” — which has also been called the Mountain Quarry Bridge and Railroad Bridge — was originally built in 1912 to serve trains transporting limestone from a nearby rock quarry. The railroad went out of service in the 1940s. Nicknamed the “Gateway to Auburn,” it is 150 feet above the canyon floor and most often used by runners, hikers and those on horseback.

It earned its “No Hands” nickname from horseback rider Ina Robinson, who was known to ride across the bridge, which lacked guardrails, without holding her reins.

The bridge is known for holding strong when an upstream dam broke in 1964 and the so-called “Valentines Day Flood” in 1986 that submerged the bridge and destroyed another dam two miles down river.