Trails near Sacramento?

[Aeronot]

Hi everyone. I'm new to the sport and I'm looking for some good trails to ride in the Sacramento area or anywhere relatively close. Also, since I'm new could anyone shed some light on the do's and don't's for mountain biking? Thanks in advance for the help.



Aeronot

[nachomc]

There's a ton of stuff close to Sacramento.

Granite Bay has some fun singletrack that has minimal climbing, or you can hit Auburn, which has about 40 miles of marked, public trails. I love it up there. A little bit further is Truckee or Tahoe with TONS of riding.

For Aubun trials, you can google Foresthill Divide Loop, Confluence Trail, Stagecoach, Fuel Break, Culvert or Connector. That should give you a good rundown of everything up there.

[Fiona]

I'd recommend looking up the FATRAC.org site. They have local group rides and can also educate you on the 'rules'.

I agree with Granite Bay and Auburn, but there's also some great stuff to get started along the American River Bike Trail.

2 other sites with info. are ogrehut.com and http://arnica.csustan.edu/mtbike/.

Fiona

[LandSpeed]

Originally Posted by Fiona

I'd recommend looking up the FATRAC.org site. They have local group rides and can also educate you on the 'rules'.

I agree with Granite Bay and Auburn, but there's also some great stuff to get started along the American River Bike Trail.

2 other sites with info. are ogrehut.com and http://arnica.csustan.edu/mtbike/.

Fiona

So I'm an AR trail junkie on my road bike, and I'm always cruising along there looking for rides "off the side" of the thing to loot... today, I rode from my place @ CSUS up to folsom lake and back, for instance, and thought I spotted some riding all over the place like I do always... where is it that you're talking about? Are there some decent MTB/singletrack after the fish hatchery? Do you know the mile marker spots?

[slashk]

Originally Posted by Aeronot

Hi everyone. I'm new to the sport and I'm looking for some good trails to ride in the Sacramento area or anywhere relatively close. Also, since I'm new could anyone shed some light on the do's and don't's for mountain biking? Thanks in advance for the help.

On the hwy 50 corridor in El Dorado Hills, there is Salmon Falls and Sweetwater (north of Green Valley Hwy on Salmon Falls Road, which is the same as El Dorado Hills Blvd).

[EricN]

Originally Posted by LandSpeed

So I'm an AR trail junkie on my road bike, and I'm always cruising along there looking for rides "off the side" of the thing to loot... today, I rode from my place @ CSUS up to folsom lake and back, for instance, and thought I spotted some riding all over the place like I do always... where is it that you're talking about? Are there some decent MTB/singletrack after the fish hatchery? Do you know the mile marker spots?

alumni side to goethe -> bike path to natoma multi-use is the only legal ride I know to get to folsom along the path. I know the other side can get you ticketed but you can single track it all the way there! Be careful out there!

Eric

[mtrh8]

Anything below the fish hatchery on dirt is illegal to my understanding and you can be fined by the rangers.There is a nice dirt single track that paralells the bike trail on hatchery side of Lake Natoma to about the bridge in Folsom.Very mellow stuf,about 8-10 miles out and back most on the dirtf.The stuff on the other side of the lake on dirt I am not sure about ,some is posted horse only, some no signs.

[washedup]

Originally Posted by Fiona

I'd recommend looking up the FATRAC.org site. They have local group rides and can also educate you on the 'rules'.

I agree with Granite Bay and Auburn, but there's also some great stuff to get started along the American River Bike Trail.

2 other sites with info. are ogrehut.com and http://arnica.csustan.edu/mtbike/.

Fiona

I am pretty sure everything on both sides of the American River in Sac is illegal. The horse trails next to the bike path are illegal and it is posted.

[ICPAYDIRT]

Follow "nachomc"'s advice. Clementine Loop w. Confluence Trail, Auburn Rivene area is fun but if you're a newbie, you can't go wrong with Granite Bay and then next Salmon Falls. I learned to ride a mountain bike on the American River "horse" trails. You will be violating but I've never came across anyone that cared. Do the AR bike trail with an occasional dip onto the dirt if you're just starting out on a mountain bike (no climbing,easy on the eyes).

[sactojesse]

FYI, the American River canyon in the Auburn State Recreation Area is NOT called Auburn Ravine, as some people mistakenly think. Auburn Ravine is small creek that flows westward from Auburn, eventually discharging into the East Side Canal and Cross Canal before flowing into the Sacramento River near Verona in southwestern Sutter County. Auburn Ravine has nothing to do with the American River confluence, but some of the confusion is likely due to the fact that Auburn Ravine Road and Foresthill Road share a common exit on I-80, with Auburn Ravine Road heading west along Auburn Ravine and Foresthill Road heading east across the American River canyon/Foresthill Bridge. As far as I know, there's no riding near Auburn Ravine. It's mostly private property.

[Aeronot]

Thanks again for all the help, everyone. My only problem now is deciding where I'm gonna ride this weekend. I'll give you all a heads up after my first trail ride and maybe have some pictures to boot.



Wahoo

[Brainstump]

Here's a few more rides not already mentioned...

Hidden Falls in Auburn.

Olmstead Loop in Cool.

Cronen Ranch, just south of Cool.

These rides, plus all of the previously posted rides and much more are at Ogre's mountain bike site. Directions, ride reports, maps, pics and many more great trails.... http://ogrehut.com/

[skierguy]

I don’t want to hijack this thread but… All the above trails seem to be in the foot hills or surroundings, is anyone aware of any riding trails in Yolo County? Maybe out in the Capay Valley? I know there are a lot of hiking trails but am unaware of the policy regarding riding out there.

Thanks

[thebigred67]

Originally Posted by skierguy

I don’t want to hijack this thread but… All the above trails seem to be in the foot hills or surroundings, is anyone aware of any riding trails in Yolo County? Maybe out in the Capay Valley? I know there are a lot of hiking trails but am unaware of the policy regarding riding out there.

Thanks

That is a good question! I'd like to know too!

[sactojesse]

Regarding trails to the west of Sacramento, Rockville Hills Regional Park is located in Fairfield, approximately 40 miles southwest of Sacramento:

http://www.ci.fairfield.ca.us/cs-rockvillehillspark.htm

It's a small park (630 acres or roughly one square mile), but there are miles of trails that criss-cross the park. There are trails for all levels of riders, ranging from fireroads to technical singletrack to rock drops for adventure seekers.

[nachomc]

Originally Posted by Brainstump

Here's a few more rides not already mentioned...

Hidden Falls in Auburn.

Olmstead Loop in Cool.

Cronen Ranch, just south of Cool.

These rides, plus all of the previously posted rides and much more are at Ogre's mountain bike site. Directions, ride reports, maps, pics and many more great trails.... http://ogrehut.com/

I can't believe I forgot to mention Hidden Falls and Olmstead.

[Fiona]

Originally Posted by washedup

I am pretty sure everything on both sides of the American River in Sac is illegal. The horse trails next to the bike path are illegal and it is posted.

FATRAC lead a beginner ride on dirt along the Natomas Lake section. It follows the bike path on both sides of the river all the way up to Folsom. There's plenty of trails that can be ridden along the river above the Fish Hatchery, just look for any no bikes signs. Ogre and I rode all the way around the lake with very little pavement being involved and as far as I remember there were no signs saying NO bikes/horses only. Here's the link to our 2 writeups. http://ogrehut.com/index.php?s=+Natomas

Fiona

[Bokchoicowboy]

I don't know about areas below Hazel avenue or the area above Old Folsom on the American River Parkway/Folsom SRA, but as far as the trail network around Lake Natoma:

I have not seen any signs posted in the Lake Natoma trail network that declare what the trail use is. I don't know if the state never scrounged up the cash to post anything or they are just apathetic.....

I have discussed which trails are legal with my boss, who is an ultramarathon runner who uses the loop around Lake Natoma as his daily exercise. He said he had asked some of the State Parks rangers, and they advised him all the dirt trails on the North side of the lake are off limits to bicycles. The dirt trails on the South side of the lake are Multi-use.

I tried to research to confirm this. As far as what is legal and what is not, there really isn't a good current trail-map I could find for most of the area, even on the California State Parks website. What they do have are some PDF maps that show alternatives to the planned trail designation that were discussed in a meeting back in 2003. As far as I can determine, there have not been any more meetings addressing this.

Anyway, the PDF maps give a good idea what is legal for mountain bikes and what is not, as they pretty much show what exists right now as well as any proposed changes:

Alternative Trail Map #1

Alternative Trail Map #2

Hope this is helpful.