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El Dorado Trail - Placerville to Folsom

RECOMMENDED ROUTE
Intermediate Intermediate
 3.3 (41)
  1. Areas
  2. CA
  3. …Gold Country
  4. Placerville
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“A fun, scenic, off-the-beaten-path ride on the old railroad corridor. ”

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Map Key

32.6

Miles

52.5

KM

95%

Singletrack

1,866' 569 m

High

428' 130 m

Low

436' 133 m

Up

1,874' 571 m

Down

1%

Avg Grade (1°)

9%

Max Grade (5°)

Dogs Unknown

E-Bikes Unknown

Overview

This is the full length of the mostly dirt portion of the El Dorado Trail. It's a neat ride on the old railroad corridor, following old dirt bike singletrack.

There are two places to stop for food/water if necessary, Missouri Flat Rd. and Motherload Dr. (Both are obvious).

Some have complained about goatheads in the past, so plan accordingly for avoiding or repairing flat tires.

Need to Know

Be careful crossing the various roads.

Keep an eye out for the singletrack that leaves the rail bed and goes up hills or down ravines. You won't ride along the actual rails very much if you stick to the old dirt bike trails.

Description

At 32 miles, this is a great, point-to-point, net loss of elevation ride. It is REAL mountain biking! With very little climbing, it's also a really good singlespeed trail.

If you're starting at the "top" (Forni Rd., right by the jail), the few miles to the Weber Creek Bridge is a paved, Class I bike path, but there is some fun singletrack on the left side if you keep your eyes peeled.

Once you cross the Weber Creek Bridge, there's another mile of paved Class I bike path to Missouri Flat Rd (no singletrack). Once you cross here, you'll be on dirt all the way to Folsom.

The only "boring" portion is the last 3-4 miles, a little West of Latrobe Rd. to In N Out Burger in Folsom (off E. Bidwell). Once you cross the cool Deer Creek Bridge, the trail gets a little less interesting and the final couple miles are best done on the paved road on the West side of the train tracks.

While this trail as mapped shows the length of the El Dorado Trail from Forni Rd. to Folsom, many people like to park on Motherload Drive in Shingle Springs and ride up the tracks, then turn around and come back, which is also fun. Sam's Town Cyclery also operates a full service bike shop in the Shingle Springs Depot building also providing MTB, Fat Tire and kids bike rentals. The El Dorado Western Railroad Foundation and Sam's Town Cyclery also will have shuttle service rail rides from Shingle Springs to El Dorado and you can ride you bike back down the track.

For those that grow tired of riding trails in the Folsom Lake area, the El Dorado Trail is really good option for you!

History & Background

See eldoradotrail.com/ for more info about this historic rail corridor. The long term plan is to remove all the rails and put in a Class I bike path that connects to the American River Bike Trail.

Contacts

Local Club: Friends of El Dorado Trail

Shared By:

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Full Details

Trail Ratings

  3.3 from 41 votes

#1

in Placerville

#785

Overall
  3.3 from 41 votes
5 Star
15%
4 Star
34%
3 Star
27%
2 Star
15%
1 Star
10%
Recommended Route Rankings

#1

in Placerville

#112

in California

#785

Overall
148 Views Last Month
40,776 Since Jun 15, 2013
Intermediate Intermediate
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8%
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Photos

The cut, near the Red Hawk Casino exit off Hwy 50. Feels like you're in the Wild West!
Jun 15, 2013 near Shingle…, CA
Closer to White Rock Road - Folsom/EDH area.
Sep 18, 2020 near El Dora…, CA
Starting off near White Rock - Riding in reverse, going against the grain!
Sep 3, 2020 near El Dora…, CA
This is heading eastbound
Jun 15, 2013 near Shingle…, CA
East bound
Jun 15, 2013 near Cameron…, CA
Weber Creek Bridge
Oct 11, 2021 near Diamond…, CA

13 Comments

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Current Trail Conditions

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Check-Ins

Feb 20, 2023
Garrett Bliss
Really fun 30mi — 8h 00m
Jan 28, 2023
Jake Johnson
Trail conditions are really bad. Lots of downed trees from the storms and lots of rutted areas and exposed rock from the running water. 37.6mi — 4h 44m
May 7, 2022
Wesley Brooks
Did the downhill direction. There are some very difficult sections, as well as some sections of smooth and fast cross-country trail. 31mi — 5h 00m
Mar 25, 2022
Carl Ramstrom
Jan 23, 2022
Jacque Penn
It's a long fun singletrack trails
May 23, 2021
Nat Lim
Out and back. Singlespeed friendly 64mi — 7h 25m
May 22, 2021
Tony Tobia
Jan 1, 2021
Brian Cutting
Went from Placerville to Latrobe with a few of the kids. Great ride with kiddos! 22mi — 2h 56m

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