30 MILES / 685 FEET

• American River Parkway Bike Trail from Carmichael to the historic main street of Folsom, with a loop around Lake Natoma.
  
  

• SETTING

  • Gold rush country directly east of Sacramento.  Piles of previously dredged rocks can be seen along much of the route, reminding us of previous gold mining activities. 

  • This route displays the full glory of the American River Parkway Bike Trail as it affords us a quiet, scenic, safe, direct conduit through the eastern metropolitan area.
    
    

• START

  • Carmichael:  mile 13.5 of the American River Bike Trail, William Pond Recreation Area, Carmichael, CA

    • Travel to the intersection of Arden Way and Fair Oaks Blvd in Carmichael, CA (immediately east of Sacramento).  Park in the Five Points parking lot (SE corner of Arden Way & Fair Oaks Blvd, away from retail outlets) or on Arden Way, west of restricted parking.  Mile 13.5 is at the intersection of the American River Pkwy Bike Trail and the Arden Way access path.

  • Any portion of the American River Parkway Bike Trail can be used as the start / end point.
    
     

• RIDE CHARACTERISTICS

  • Climbing:  685 feet, i.e. negligible.

  • Difficulty:  short & easy.

  • Risks:  Inexperienced cyclists on the American River Parkway Bike Trail:  particularly on weekends there can be significant numbers of young cyclists who are utterly ignorant of the "rules of the road" and who can act entirely unpredictably.