Salmon Falls / Darrington Trail
Folsom Lake SRA, South Fork arm · near El Dorado Hills · Gold Country & Central Valley
Mountain Biking
At a glance
- Skill level
- intermediate
- Trail miles
- Darrington ~16 mi out-and-back (100% singletrack); Sweetwater adds an easier arm
- Elevation
- ~700 ft gain; constant punchy climbs in and out of creek drainages
- Best season
- October–May (very hot and exposed June–August; slick after rain)
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- No
Mountain Biking detail
- Ride types
- xc · all-mountain
- Signature trails
- Darrington Trail · Sweetwater Trail
- Ebike
- No
- Ebike note
- Restricted — Folsom Lake SRA (State Parks) limits e-bikes to paved trails/roads; prohibited on dirt singletrack. Do not assume allowed.
- Intl tip
- The Sacramento area's most popular singletrack, along Folsom Lake's South Fork arm. Rocky and flowing; the Sweetwater end is beginner-friendly. Ride October–May (bakes in summer). E-bikes restricted here (State Parks).
The guide
The Darrington Trail is the Sacramento area's go-to singletrack — sixteen miles of out-and-back trail threading the steep, oak-…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Salmon Falls / Darrington Trail — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 38.756, -121.043