Explore the best rated trails in Fair Oaks, CA. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the UC Davis and Russell Boulevard Paths and Elk Grove Creek Trail. With more than 46 trails covering 324 miles you’re bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The Laguna Creek Trail takes users from a trailhead and equestrian staging area on Waterman Road to parks, retail centers and residential neighborhoods both north and south of Camden Lake. The scenic...
The Alamo Creek Bikeway is a shaded path along Alamo Creek in Vacaville. The trail connects residents with several parks, including Nelson Park, Patwin Park and Beelard Park. The trail is not just...
The Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues Trail skirts the Folsom State Prison, which Cash sang about in his well-known 1955 song "Folsom Prison Blues." The trail—formerly known as the Folsom Lake Trail...
The Dry Creek Parkway is an enjoyable cycling and walking corridor through northern Sacramento County and southern Placer County that includes trails, parks and open space along Dry Creek. Currently,...
The UC Davis Arboretum and Putah Creek Trails are a bike path often used by the residents of Davis. As its name suggests, it begins at the beautiful UC Davis Arboretum and runs alongside Putah Creek...
The popular Bannon Creek Parkway runs through Jefferson Park and Bannon Creek Park, utilizing a scenic greenbelt throughout most of its length. South Natomas residents can use the trail and Natomas...
The Browns Valley Road Trail is an excellent commuter trail that parallels its namesake road from Vaca Valley Parkway to Brown Street in Vacaville.
The Union Valley Bike Trail is a two-lane, paved route that connects the campgrounds on the east side of Union Valley Reservoir in the Eldorado National Forest. The trail skirts the shores of the...
The Sutter Bike Path follows a short portion of the old Sacramento Northern Railroad and runs a straight line between Hooper Road and Acacia Avenue. The trail links to bike lanes at Hooper Road, which...
The Foulks Ranch/Laguna Greenbelt is a neighborhood trail that winds through the Laguna Creek West and Foulks Ranch subdivisions in Elk Grove. The scenic route provides access to several parks,...
The Elk Grove Creek Trail is open in two disconnected segments along its namesake waterway in the cities of Elk Grove and Sacramento. Both portions offer a smooth paved surface and scenic views of the...
The Folsom Parkway Rail Trail extends from historic downtown Folsom to a connection with the Lake Natoma Trail north of US 50. The trail provides a direct connection to three light rail...
What do you do when you have a disused railroad, and a nearly impassible highway? Rail-trail advocates in Rancho Cordova recognized the potential to solve these challenges as well create new...
Running from Solano Community College on the southwest edge of town and into the town of Fairfield, the Fairfield Linear Park Path provides convenient bike access to the action on campus and in the...
The Sunrise Bikeway is a short but important commuter route in the suburbs of northeast Sacramento, linking neighborhoods with businesses and providing an off-road route that parallels busy Sunrise...
The McCoy Creek Path begins near Carl E. Hall Park, which contains a playground and is next to a library and community center. The path runs through a grassy corridor along McCoy Creek. It ends at the...
The college town of Davis is famous for its bikeability, due in part to the network of neighborhood greenways planned into the community as it grew. This series of bike paths crisscrosses the eastern...
Located in a quiet residential neighborhood, the Natomas Westlake Path runs along the shoreline of its namesake lake in the growing Natomas section of Sacramento. While the northern stretch of trail...
The Old Highway 40 Bike Path parallels the Union Pacific Railroad and Amtrak's Capitol Corridor line through eastern Davis. Running on the former US 40 right-of-way, the trail is primarily a commuting...
The East Bay Municipal Utility District Right-of-Way, as its name suggests, is a trail open on a utility corridor in Stockton, although that city is generally considered to be outside the informal...
Passing through California’s historic Gold Rush country, the El Dorado Trail runs more than 35 miles from Camino west to the line between El Dorado and Sacramento counties, just south of Folsom. The...
The Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues Trail skirts the Folsom State Prison, which Cash sang about in his well-known 1955 song "Folsom Prison Blues." The trail—formerly known as the Folsom Lake Trail...
The McCoy Creek Path begins near Carl E. Hall Park, which contains a playground and is next to a library and community center. The path runs through a grassy corridor along McCoy Creek. It ends at the...
The Dry Creek Parkway is an enjoyable cycling and walking corridor through northern Sacramento County and southern Placer County that includes trails, parks and open space along Dry Creek. Currently,...
A collection of neighborhood trails in Sacramento's North Natomas community offers convenient access to parks, schools and shopping centers for local residents and visitors. Most are well connected,...
Coursing alongside one of Stockton's levees, the Calaveras River Bike Trail services many neighborhoods and provides access to many amenities in the San Joaquin Valley city. The east–west corridor...
The Old Highway 40 Bike Path parallels the Union Pacific Railroad and Amtrak's Capitol Corridor line through eastern Davis. Running on the former US 40 right-of-way, the trail is primarily a commuting...
The college town of Davis is famous for its bikeability, due in part to the network of neighborhood greenways planned into the community as it grew. This series of bike paths crisscrosses the...
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Roseville’s Dry Creek Greenway is planned to one day span 4.25 miles through the southern neighborhoods of this central California town. Currently, just shy of a mile of the paved pathway has been...
The college town of Davis is famous for its bikeability, due in part to the network of neighborhood greenways planned into the community as it grew. This series of bike paths crisscrosses the eastern...
Davis is a bike town, and they love the trails that connect to the UC Davis campus. For a little excursion, take the scenic trail out of town and through farmland on the straight shot along Russell...
The Browns Valley Road Trail is an excellent commuter trail that parallels its namesake road from Vaca Valley Parkway to Brown Street in Vacaville.
Although most area residents (and Google Maps) consider the Lake Natoma Trail part of the American River Bike Trail, it is a separate trail in its own right. The Lake Natoma Trail dips and dives...
The Two Rivers Trail runs adjacent to the American River and connects Jibboom Street and State Route 160 in the redeveloping northern reaches of downtown Sacramento. It provides a connection to the...
The UC Davis Arboretum and Putah Creek Trails are a bike path often used by the residents of Davis. As its name suggests, it begins at the beautiful UC Davis Arboretum and runs alongside Putah Creek...
Located in a quiet residential neighborhood, the Natomas Westlake Path runs along the shoreline of its namesake lake in the growing Natomas section of Sacramento. While the northern stretch of trail...
The Yolo Causeway Bike Path follows a portion of the Yolo Causeway, which carries busy Interstate 80 over the Yolo Bypass floodplain. Beginning in West Sacramento, the path immediately parallels the...
The winding Natomas Westside Path provides a connection from Sacramento's growing North Natomas community to South Natomas and the American River Bike Trail, largely facilitated by the installation of...
The Elk Grove Creek Trail is open in two disconnected segments along its namesake waterway in the cities of Elk Grove and Sacramento. Both portions offer a smooth paved surface and scenic views of the...
The Sutter Bike Path follows a short portion of the old Sacramento Northern Railroad and runs a straight line between Hooper Road and Acacia Avenue. The trail links to bike lanes at Hooper Road, which...
Located in a quiet residential neighborhood, the Natomas Westlake Path runs along the shoreline of its namesake lake in the growing Natomas section of Sacramento. While the northern stretch of trail...
The Two Rivers Trail runs adjacent to the American River and connects Jibboom Street and State Route 160 in the redeveloping northern reaches of downtown Sacramento. It provides a connection to the...
The college town of Davis is famous for its bikeability, due in part to the network of neighborhood greenways planned into the community as it grew. This series of bike paths crisscrosses the eastern...
The Browns Valley Road Trail is an excellent commuter trail that parallels its namesake road from Vaca Valley Parkway to Brown Street in Vacaville.
One of the newest trails in Elk Grove's impressive system, the Franklin Creek Trail provides extensive recreation and active transportation options to residents of the city's southern neighborhoods....
The Alamo Creek Bikeway is a shaded path along Alamo Creek in Vacaville. The trail connects residents with several parks, including Nelson Park, Patwin Park and Beelard Park. The trail is not just...
The Western States Pioneer Trail runs for 34 miles between Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail and Auburn Equestrian Staging Area near Gum Lane in Auburn. The trail, open to hikers and horseback riders...
The East Bay Municipal Utility District Right-of-Way, as its name suggests, is a trail open on a utility corridor in Stockton, although that city is generally considered to be outside the informal...
The Folsom Parkway Rail Trail extends from historic downtown Folsom to a connection with the Lake Natoma Trail north of US 50. The trail provides a direct connection to three light rail...
Roseville’s Dry Creek Greenway is planned to one day span 4.25 miles through the southern neighborhoods of this central California town. Currently, just shy of a mile of the paved pathway has been...
The McCoy Creek Path begins near Carl E. Hall Park, which contains a playground and is next to a library and community center. The path runs through a grassy corridor along McCoy Creek. It ends at the...
The Clarksburg Branch Line Trail in West Sacramento runs between Jefferson Boulevard at S. River Road and Gregory Avenue where S. River Road loops around and returns. The surface is crushed concrete...
Follow the Sacramento Northern Bikeway for a tour of Sacramento and its surrounding communities, weaving through historic neighborhoods and parks and finishing in a scenic rural area. The paved trail...
Davis is a bike town, and they love the trails that connect to the UC Davis campus. For a little excursion, take the scenic trail out of town and through farmland on the straight shot along Russell...
The UC Davis Arboretum and Putah Creek Trails are a bike path often used by the residents of Davis. As its name suggests, it begins at the beautiful UC Davis Arboretum and runs alongside Putah Creek...
The Folsom South Canal Recreation Trail provides a useful connection from southeast Sacramento County to the American River Bike Trail. The canal was constructed in the 1970s as part of the Central...
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The American River Bike Trail (a.k.a. the Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail) hugs the banks of the American River as it flows through riparian habitat preserved by the American River Parkway. The trail...
Hugging the eastern bank of the Sacramento River, the Sacramento River Parkway Trail travels through Sacramento in two disconnected segments. The older and longer northern stretch passes through Old...
Although most area residents (and Google Maps) consider the Lake Natoma Trail part of the American River Bike Trail, it is a separate trail in its own right. The Lake Natoma Trail dips and dives...
The Humbug-Willow Creek Trail is really a collection of multi-use trails in the city of Folsom, about 32 miles' worth, and more are planned. The trails snake throughout the city, between Folsom Lake...
Definitely a cool trail. Goes over the freeway with its own bridge, shady, good path across town!
When you experience this trail you first need to realize it is actually about 37 miles long but is longer than that to Folsom or to Tahoe (Epic Trail System). That said, the El Dorado Trail is a "trifecta of trails" with rail, earthen trail and Class I bike path under construction. This is the goal of the entire corridor to the El Dorado County line BECAUSE it is the goal of the organization that manages it, the SPTC JPA.
The El Dorado Trail or Gem of the Western Sierras, is a rough, somewhat untamed trail testament to the folks who built it and many with legacy family members in the area. In fact, many with less than 75 years in the are do not know about the EDT. Come out and ride the rail now in Shingle Springs in the depot at Sam's Town Cyclery or rent bikes to ride the earthen trail. You can also ride the rail in El Dorado and soon they will have a Class I (ADA approved) bike path along with improved earthen trail.
The Placerville Trail (Missouri Flat to Camino) is great with some nice views and the tressle bridge over Weber Creek. However, watch out for cars and homeless in Placerville. Making way out of Placerville you can get to Camino with a little bit of a climb (estimate 600').
In the next few years projects will start to build the Class I trail next to the rail and hopefully we will see connects to Cameron Park, El Dorado Hills and Folsom.
Oh yeah, wildlife are plenty on the EDT having seen over the years many deer, fox, skunk and even a mountain lion!
The main problem with the trail are the folks that cannot figure out the little stick figures (and text) painted on the pavement surface at most major crossings.
The pedestrian figure and the bicyclist figure are obviously travelling in the same direction of travel---pedestrian limbs and leaning into the walk, bicycle sitting on the bicycle facing forward. Pedestrian is on the left side of the trail as you read the right-side up text, "Left", and the bicyclist is on the right side of the trail as you read the "Right" text.
All the clues are there, but so many people don't seem to figure it out, so it is a bit annoying to have to go around them as they walk towards you on the trail.
I hope this helps.
I’m making this my favorite local bike path. It’s quiet, clean for the most part, and it’s long enough to get a good ride in.
I am new to the Yuba City area and found this trail. It was not far and even though it was a Sunday it was pretty quiet. It is a good short trail with a great view.
Beautiful scenery and an easy walk. We didn't see anyone on the trail the whole day we were there until we were walking back. There were lots of people in the campgrounds and on the lake though.
The Traillink information is a little dated. The official Folsom site lists this trail as being 50 miles long, which is accurate but misleading. There are at least 50 miles of trails but it's a bunch of interconnected short trails and not one long route.
These trails are the craziest maze of paved trails I've ever been on. There are very few signs telling you where you are or which way to travel to get to a particular section or street, so if you decide to ride this trail take your GPS with you and a copy of the bike trail map or you will get lost. I took my family during the summer of 2017. We had a GPS and a printed map and we still took several wrong turns.
Even though you're probably going to get lost, it's well worth the trip. The trail meanders through apartment complexes from time to time, but you're generally surrounded by great scenery. We passed several ponds and creeks, and crossed over several scenic bridges. Folsom is a bike friendly community, and is safe enough that we weren't nervous after dark. If you can figure out where you are, there are plenty of places near the trail to get a meal. We found a few restrooms along our route and used the GPS to find food. Restaurants with outdoor tables and bike racks are a common sight in Folsom.
There aren't any towering hill climbs, but there were a few segments that were steep enough that I had to tow my five year old. If you're traveling with toddlers you should talk to a local bike shop to find an easy section. We didn't encounter anything that our nine year old couldn't handle.
I live near Discovery park, which is where the American River / Jedediah Smith bike trail starts. That trail connects to this trail system somewhere around mile marker 25. I usually pedal from Discovery park with my kids, so I don't think I've pedaled more than half of what's currently available in this trail system. As a result I can't vouch for every inch of it. However, the sections I have traveled are good enough that I would not hesitate to drive for three hours to come ride this trail if I wasn't local.
I tried this with my young kids in 2016. We started in Discovery park on the Jedediah Smith (American River Bike trail) , biked down to old Sac on the Sacramento River Bike Trail where we had some ice cream cones, and on the way back to Discovery park we decided to take this trail to 12th street, take the 12th street bridge (N Sacramento FWY) over to Northgate blvd and get back on to the Jedediah Smith trail.
The trail itself is in good condition and connects up to several other glorious area trails. It's paved the whole way with a few dirt spurs that go down to the river's edge and fairly open.
However,
I don't know where the photo that's featured for this trail was taken as I didn't see anything remotely similar on our route. There were a lot of homeless folks camped out along the route, and very few of the regular bikers and hikers that you normally see on the other trails. Getting off on 12th street was hair raising with little kids in tow, and there isn't a connector to put you back on the American River bike trail on the other side of the bridge, so if you don't know where you're going you might get lost and end up in a homeless camp.
If you're with a few buddies and it's still broad daylight, then it might be worth doing. Unfortunately, the trail gets very little traffic right now (so the police rarely patrol it) and it really doesn't go anywhere. If they ever build the trail out to the University it will might probably become a great trail. As of spring 2018 it's really not worth riding this trail even if you live here.
This is a great trail that is a smooth ride with many benches and stopping points along the way, even a few restrooms as well. People are decently considerate on the trail but you will have the occasional "tour de Sacramento" guy going way too fast.
Also if you are a mountain biker steer clear, the Park Rangers do not mess around here and you don't want to be caught off the paved trail, there are many off road paths along the route but strictly no bikes on that part.
If you are looking for a smooth ride without a lot of traffic, this is your trail. The first half near lake Natoma has been freshly repaved and is billiard table smooth. The two street crossings have signals but other than those, it's a great path for fast riding.
I ride form the North end of the trail. Most riders do not go south of CA16, Jackson Rd. The channel is cut to a very flat slope, and the train follows that slope almost all the way to CA16.
There are sections below grade where the sun and wind do not go in late afternoon. If you are looking for a place to practice your speed riding this is one of the best. It is a great tie-in with CA16 which has wide bike lanes for all but a short section at Rancho Murieta to CA49.
Ride 10.5 miles from Nimbus Fish Hatchery to Ca 16. Take Ca16 East to Plymouth for an extra 25 miles
Back to the South end of Folsom South Canal. At times there is water in a ditch you can ride through just South of Ca16, You need to lime over or under the gate at Sloughhouse Rd. There is more water to cycle through where the canal goes under Dear Creek, but when you get to where the channel goes under the Consumes River, you may have to swim. The river is about 120 feet wide, and the canal is underground for approximately 700 feet. There are about 450 feet of field between the river and the next section of the channel.
You should be able to go East on Ca16 for 4.5 miles, turn South on Dillard Rd for 3.8 miles and pick up the canal again but you cannot quite get to Twin Cities Rd.
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