Sierra sheriff’s warning: If you go to Candy Rock, help is a long way off

"Recreators have a personal responsibility to prepare for risks if they plan to visit the swimming hole."

With record heat expected over the Labor Day weekend, a Sierra Nevada sheriff issued a public warning about the risks of a remote swimming hole.

In the last two weeks, said Wednesday’s statement from the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office, six people have had to be rescued from the Candy Rock area on the North Fork of the Stanislaus River — and the response is far from immediate.

The swimming hole is reached by a 15-minute drive from Highway 4 near Avery, then a 1½-mile road walk, then a steep quarter-mile descent on difficult terrain.

Emergency calls require someone to walk out and then drive back to an area that has cell service. For a rescue team to get to swimming hole on an all-terrain vehicle can take an hour or two; helicopters cannot be used on particularly hot days, the sheriff’s office said.

Some of the recent rescues were of people who “due to the distance, heat and personal unpreparedness were unable to walk back out,” the warning said. The site has also seen injuries and drownings, with swimmers slipping off rocks or getting a leg trapped.

The statement concludes: “In essence, the Sheriff’s Office wishes to remind visitors and residents that the Candy Rock Swimming Hole is hazardous, and that recreators have a personal responsibility to prepare for risks if they plan to visit the swimming hole.”

In neighboring Tuolumne County, three Bay Area men died in the past two summers at another popular swimming hole, God’s Bath on the Clavey River.

In 2020, officials at Auburn State Recreation Area banned parking at Yankee Jim’s Bridge swimming hole, on the North Fork of the American River, citing crowds that they said would hinder emergency responders.