Mill Creek (Stanislaus Tributary)

A short canyon off Highway 4. It's not particularly gorged in, and most of the drops are low angle, and blocky, allowing for easy downclimbs. The scenery is nice though, and it's a short trip, perhaps a decent place to introduce someone to canyons? Based of the gauge (which does not live update) it seems that this creek is maintained at around 1.5cfs pretty consistently.

Take Hunter Dam Road 1.6 miles off Hwy 4 and find somewhere to park. This should put you just a little ways past a house and some private property. A short bushwhack down the hill will take you to Mill Creek, and you can start down. At times the foliage may include a considerable number of berry bushes with very sharp thorns, so clothing with good coverage is very helpful.

The canyon starts with a beautiful riverwalk interspersed with a few (perhaps four?) downclimbs. A bit of team climbing is helpful on the later downclimbs. About three quarters of the way down the canyon (per the GPS track), the rappels begin. Some of them are pretty fun, none require any real swiftwater technique at the standard flow of 1.5cfs. Perhaps the highlight of the canyon is a sharp right turn into a little gorge. Just after that section, you can see the canyon get choked with bushes. This is where we chose to exit. The slope of the canyon mellows here, but it does drop another 600ft of elevation to the river, with some waterfalls easily seen on satellite imagery. You could choose to continue, but then you'll need to discover your own way out.