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Trail is under levee construction and has been buried in dirt. Hopefully it will still be there when the construction is over.
Once in a while I like to ride the canal to just have a long, flat stretch to ride with no climbing. The only "climbs" are the few places where you may have to go up an overpass and then back down onto the canal. As for scenery, well, there ain't none. Its a boring ride but nice and flat and not crowded at all, particularly toward the south end. Its a great place where I take new riders to get them used to their bikes, changing gears etc. without the chance of being stuck on a hill in the wrong gear.
As others have mentioned, for some reason, they keep the far south end of the trail closed off completely which seems very odd. On one ride there I followed a contract security officer down to the south end at Sloughhouse Road. He was opening the gate on the south side of the road and I was preparing to follow him in there when he informed me that that was the end of the public access; it was closed completely from that point south. I wish that they would change this; seems a bit ridiculous to not allow bikes/hikers access to that area.
All in all, if you rode the entire accessible area of the trail from one end to another, it totals nearly 13 miles. I generally start near Sunrise/16 at the Park-n-Ride Lot there, ride south to where its closed off, turn around and ride all the way north to the Fish Hatchery and turn around and come back. There are no longer any restrooms along the trail (they used to have at least one porta-potty however I'm sure that was probably vandalized enough to make them remove it. But, being as isolated as most stretches are, particularly near the south end, its not much of a problem.
The American River Bike trail is much more scenic but crowded, particularly on weekends. But if you're looking for a great stretch of flat riding without the crowds, the canal is it.
Nicely paved trail but it’s usually crowded with people walking their dogs. it’s also a bit skinny
Awesome trail but it’s closed for levee construction until November 2020
Hit this trail on a Saturday and started out from the car park at the dam. Our family of four cycled along the trail for just under 4 miles. Great lake views, smooth trail, and polite trail users. Good number of stopping places with lake views. Highly recommend.
Review of the 1st 4 miles coming east from Discovery Park. All four of us started our from Discovery Park and headed east along the trail. The trail itself is very easy and the surface is very smooth. 99% of the faster cyclists were polite and gave us adequate warning of their presence. Alas the first few miles are not very scenic. A lot of litter on the sides of the trail and many tents. Not an area we'd care to cycle in again as a family at the current time.
I would recommended it! Family friendly and parks along the way. Bring the dog the loved ones and enjoy the day!
Trail surface is good, but most of trail is amid homeless encampments with accompanying refuse. Most folk were friendly, but definitely not a scenic route.As previous reviewer stated, east end is very busy road with no bike lane or shoulder. Not for the faint of heart!
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!
Started 7:00am on trail and it was a challenge through some of the obstacles... freeway construction zone, Saturday Farmers Market, Gold Rush festival but that was the easy stuff. Problematic areas began after Missouri Flat Road / Walmart. Here the trail was either rocky, on an edge next to tracks or on the tracks. At least the worst was riding on tracks which is ok if you have good dual suspension and are dialed in. Views were awesome, no loose dogs, trails were challenging at times. We eventually abandoned the rails due to low air and low water I’d do it again but start in Camino and end in Walmart.
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.
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