Cool / Olmstead Loop & Cronan Ranch
Cool & Pilot Hill, South Fork American River · near Cool · Gold Country & Central Valley
Mountain Biking
At a glance
- Skill level
- intermediate
- Trail miles
- Olmstead ~9 mi loop (~31 mi network); Cronan Ranch adds ~12+ mi to the river
- Elevation
- Rolling oak grassland; ~1,000 ft gain; canyon drops to the South Fork
- Best season
- October–May (open, no shade — bakes in summer; muddy after winter rain)
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Mountain Biking detail
- Nickname
- Gold Country Grasslands
- Ride types
- xc · all-mountain
- Signature trails
- Olmstead Loop · Cronan Ranch (Down and Up / Hidden Valley) · Salt Creek Loop
- Ebike
- No
- Ebike note
- Restricted — regional recreation land and BLM (Cronan); most singletrack is non-e-bike unless posted. Assume no unless signed.
- Intl tip
- Classic foothill grassland riding — the 9-mile Olmstead Loop plus Cronan Ranch's meadow trails to the South Fork American River. Ride October–May (no shade; bakes in summer, greasy after rain). Wildflowers peak in spring.
The guide
The grasslands around Cool are Gold Country's quintessential foothill riding — rolling oak-studded hills, wildflower-strewn in …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Cool / Olmstead Loop & Cronan Ranch — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 38.888, -121.011