By Paul on Nov 15, 2017

Paved bike trail. Nice exercise stations. Highlight is the lovely Weber Creek Bridge at around the 1 mile point.

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By Paul on Nov 15, 2017

Starts from a nice big parking lot in Smithflat. Paved bike path heads east from here (the western trail is down the street a bit). Less than a mile walk to the freeway overcrossing where noise gets annoying but the view is nice. Quiets down as you get into Camino. Paved bike path ends in a few miles, turns to dirt trail that's fairly pretty but often close to houses. Eventually dead ends in central Camino.

Paved part is about a 5 mile out and back, full length is ~10 miles out and back. Surprisingly not very hilly for the area.

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By Paul on Nov 15, 2017

A nice unpaved segment of the El Dorado Trail that doesn't get a lot of use. Starting point features some train cars, and maintenance car rides on Sundays. Walk west along the El Dorado Trail from here toward Shingle Springs or east toward Diamond Springs, either direction will take you past various farms/ranches/animals. If heading west, an ideal destination is the railroad cut about 4 miles out (near the freeway at Red Hawk Parkway). If heading east, the trail stops at Walmart and then resumes again across the street.

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By Paul on Nov 15, 2017 (Edited May 25, 2021)

There's no parking lot, but there's a wide gravel pullout just a little past the bridge where probably a dozen or more cars can safely park at once. Just go down to the tracks to find the dirt trail from there.

Head west towards Folsom and you'll encounter several nice creeks and bridges and minor dynamite cuts, hundreds of cows, views of El Dorado Hills in the distance, and lots of pretty wildflowers at the right time of year.

Head east toward Cameron Park and you'll get a few more trees, bigger hills, will wander through Latrobe and then a small cut.

By Paul on Nov 15, 2017

Convenient parking spot for the El Dorado Trail, and has some train cars with rides on alternate Sundays. Walk east about 2 miles to the cut, a lovely dynamite-blasted area, with the downside being it gets within earshot of the freeway for a bit. Walk west for a more naturey and hilly trail toward Cameron Park.

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By Paul on Nov 15, 2017

A paved bike path. Head east from the Mosquito bus station parking through a nice tunnel, an overpass, and onward to Smith Flat through some pretty greenery for a 4 mile out and back round trip.

Probably the busiest segment of the trail. Tunnel is nice and the memorial plaques are interesting but too many people and too much freeway noise.

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By Paul on Nov 15, 2017

Considering the effort required to get out to it, this is a mediocre lake. Might be better when it's fuller? Anyway, if you can stand the drive over the Mosquito Bridge or Rock Creek Road, this is a peaceful little spot. Probably better for disc golfing, camping or swimming than it is for hiking. Hiking is free, $6 day use fee for non-hiking activities.

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By Paul on Nov 15, 2017 (Edited Sep 21, 2021)

CLOSED INDEFINITELY DUE TO DAMAGE FROM CALDOR FIRE

Countless miles of different forest trails. Some short, some long. Some loops, some not. Mixed use with hikers, bikers and horses -- sometimes the mountain bikers can be awkward to encounter on narrow trails.

Be sure to check out the trail map on page 3 of the linked PDF. Trail 8 is a 7 mile loop, but 8A is a prettier short out and back to the creek.

These trails connect to the Cedar Park trails and the loop around Jenkinson Lake, allowing you to go as far as you like.

By Paul on Nov 15, 2017

Starts at the Mt. Tallac trailhead. The floating islands are alas just patches of grass floating in a pond which you can't even see move if it's not windy... but the views along the route are nice.

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By Paul on Nov 15, 2017

Not an impressive falls, but it's short hike and gives a chance to see Fallen Leaf Lake. I believe it's about 2 miles, but some sources say 5.3 -- there may be several trailheads.

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

A coupleh miles of trails. Starting from the mines, going up the stairs, there's a mile loop with some good variety: views down the hill, an old building, a couple of aborted mines, and some forest. Then on the other side of the street by the stamp mill there's another mile or so. Steep but not difficult. Can be crowded at the base by the mines but there's not many people who go up the hill.

The self-guided audio tour of Gold Bug Mine is $12, but the Hendy Stamp Mill and the hiking trails are free.

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By Paul on Nov 15, 2017

A nice set of waterfalls. The truckee river falls are very close to the parking, and there's another waterfall about halfway up the trail to echo summit. That last one can be a trail obstacle depending on season, you might need to hop across some rocks to cross it in the spring.

Oddly enough, the official Hawley Grade trail somewhat disappointed me (nice but just a typical mountain hike with one waterfall crossing, leading up to highway 50 at echo summit) -- but the unofficial part right near the parking more than made up for it. Just walk alongside the Upper Truckee River going straight up, and you get a whole series of great little waterfalls to yourself. I recommend it highly for that, moreso than for Hawley Grade itself. Best seen at peak snow melt in the late spring, of course.

I had some difficulty finding the official trail first time which is how I discovered the better trail. I don't remember exactly where I went "wrong" though... I think the official trail splits off away from the river very close to the parking?

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By Paul on Nov 15, 2017

A nice forested walk along Pyramid Creek leads up to a granite expanse that takes you -- somewhat confusingly -- to Horsetail Falls. Just try to stay near the creek to avoid losing the trail on the bare granite. Some people continue upward to the top of the falls, but that can be quite dangerous (some have died).

No shade after the initial section. Like anything at this elevation, not accessible in snowy season.

Parking lot is $5 but the highway has wide spots that are probably legally free.

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By Paul on Nov 15, 2017 (Edited Jan 04, 2018)

Lovely views. 8.5 mi full loop, or 5mi out and black to Sly Park Falls, or your choice of distance along the north side.

If you do the full loop, you'll have to walk along the street for a quarter mile at the start or end.

The waterfall is artificial and not always running, and can be nearly impossible to reach when it's snowy as the drifts pile up high in that area.

Parking options include the $11 boat ramp lot, $5 dirt parking along Mormon Emigrant by the plaque for a north side hike, or free if you catch one of the few visitor parking spots at the main entance off Sly Park Road. By the second dam along Mormon Emigrant is best for a 5 mile out and back waterfall hike.

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