By Paul on Jan 01, 2020 (Edited Jan 01, 2020)

Starting from the parking lot by the mill, head west across the road and find the trail that goes up the hill. It'll be moderately steep with some steps, but not for very long, as it leads up to the Marshall monument statue. Continuing past there you'll encounter a pioneer church.

By Paul on Jul 16, 2018

Entrance, with limited parking, is on the right 3.4 miles up Wrights Lake Road. Trail is 4.5 miles each way, wide trail but thousand foot elevation gain. Destination is an old summer cow camp with historic buildings and wildflowers.

By Paul on Nov 21, 2017 (Edited Sep 07, 2022)

From the Magnolia Ranch parking lot, you can either walk an easy loop of a couple miles or you can divert onto the south fork american river trail which goes all the way to Folsom Lake.

There's an interesting contrast in scenery, with gentle grassy hills and a creek and forest and the river ravine.

By Paul on Nov 15, 2017

A nice small waterfall in the American River Canyon. Arrive early (~8am) or on a weekday for free parking along the side of 49 at the trailhead -- fills up fast on weekends.

Starts in El Dorado county, crosses the river and ends in Placer county.

Read Full Article

By Paul on Nov 15, 2017

A nice trail along the edge of Folsom Lake. Goes forever. Park along Sophia and walk across Green Valley to trailhead.

By Paul on Nov 15, 2017 (Edited Dec 09, 2022)

Developed park with a loop around the lake. The peninsula and the [bridged] island are nice view spots. Flat and simple. A bit busy. Used to be free in the winter, but alas no more... $3, or $2 for seniors aged 62+.

Now includes a disc golf course.

Read Full Article

By Paul on Nov 15, 2017 (Edited Mar 12, 2022)

Only open in the summer, I believe. Closed for construction in 2022.

Free camping if you can get in before everyone else, and nice hike along Union Valley Lake regardless of whether you camp. The drive there includes a mile of dirt road, but is safe for a regular car.

Read Full Article

By Paul on Nov 15, 2017

Nice views (of Cascade Lake and Lake Tahoe), but no more so than the rest of the tahoe area. Okay waterfall.

In the summer, there's free parking at the Bayview trailhead past the campground. In the off-season, parking across the street at the inspiration point and walking in is an option.

Read Full Article

By Paul on Nov 15, 2017 (Edited Apr 15, 2022)

If you want a short easy walk, the main paved loop is gently sloped and about a mile with a nice vista bench view.

For more of a hike, go left from the parking onto the dirt trails past the cabin. Head down toward and creek and you'll come out below Jenkinson Lake on the other side. You can continue all the way to Fleming Meadow on these trails, or cross the street to the lake. You can go as far as you want out and back (could make it up to 14 miles if you do the Fleming Meadow loop in it). Includes an interesting ancient car wreck (about 2.5 miles in) and the spillway for Jenkinson Lake (about 3 miles in).

There are two places to park. The main obvious signed and paved lot is on the east end, it only has 4 or 5 parking spots. Then there's a dirt lot on the west side of the paved loop that can fit more vehicles.

Read Full Article

By Paul on Nov 15, 2017 (Edited Apr 21, 2022)

A fantastically beautiful rock-climbing hike down into the gorge. Up to 2 miles depending which trail forks you take. There are spots where you'll need to use your arms for balance or lift yourself between rocks. Descend carefully, this trail could be dangerous.

You can get down to the river level from the right (uphill) fork where the trail splits. Shimmying down a hillside from that trail can lead to another river access spot with sinkholes and miniature caves.

This area is more popular with rock climbers than hikers, but it's great for a short challenging hike. If you're not up to anything tough, you can still easily get to the first gorge overlooks with a half mile walk.

Parking is on the side of the road, just before a curve. The trail is very hard to spot unless you know it's there, you have to walk behind a road barrier and in front of a barbed wire fence at the start of the curve -- street view it first to be sure you know where you're looking for. There's also some parking on the opposite side of the road slightly north.

Read Full Article

By Paul on Nov 15, 2017 (Edited Dec 29, 2019)

Includes an old movie set cabin. Links up with the south fork american river trail for virtually unlimited hiking length.

Read Full Article

By Paul on Nov 15, 2017 (Edited Jun 09, 2022)

Heading west from the Salmon Falls bridge, this trail winds along the side of the river at various elevations -- high above at first, then down to river level later. 8.5 miles one way to the peninsula campground, and continues on past that. Along the way there's plenty of nice river views. There's also some forks you can take along the way for variety, I believe they all rejoin the main trail eventually but haven't verified.

Significant portions of the trail are exposed to the sun, so not much fun in summer.

The early part of the trail can get a bit busy at popular times, with mountain bikers being especially common on the narrow trail. Be alert and don't have your ear buds in.

$10 paid parking lot, or gravel parking across the bridge or wherever you fill a gravel pullout without a no parking sign (free parking likely fills up early on weekends).

According to https://getoffyourgass.com/darrington-2/ "Levi Darrington was a pioneer of 1860 who had a 780 acre ranch in this area after he gave up mining and became a butcher."

When the water is low in the summer, you can combine Darrington with Sweetwater by crossing Hidden Bridge to make a ~6 mile loop. At low water you may also find some interesting historical structures: insuremekevin.com/hiking-a...-lake-in-el-dorado-county/

Read Full Article

By Paul on Nov 15, 2017

A mile loop with river access. The first half, including river access, is wheelchair-accessible. Well-maintained, though the gravel parking lot and the driveway to it are a bit bumpy. If you're looking for a flat walk to the river, this is it.

Read Full Article

By Paul on Nov 15, 2017

Convenient to the road. Lower Eagle Falls is right below highway 50, upper Eagle Falls is a mile or so up the trail. Tends to get really crowded. $5 parking in the lot, or park down the highway and walk in. Unfortunately the parking lot is often full leaving you no choice.

The main challenge is stairs. Lots and lots of stairs.

If you go all the way to Eagle Lake, it's a semi-loop but there are repetitive parts too.

Read Full Article