Placer: Parks, Trails and History

The parks of Placer County stretch from the Sacramento Valley across the Sierra Nevada to Lake Tahoe. Placer County is accessible via Interstate 80. To plan your stay, you can explore options by focus: trails, time by the lake, seasonal snow activities, or history. Reservations are required on weekends at Hidden Falls Regional Park.

Trails and Outdoor Activities

County-owned or county-managed trails span a total of 112 miles. They include paved, ADA-accessible Class I bike paths and unpaved multi-use trails. This total describes the trail network, not the length of an individual outing; the selection also shows that it includes different surfaces and types of use. Traylor Ranch Bird Sanctuary and Nature Reserve has several loop trails for hiking, horseback riding, and running. Those specifically looking for loop trails will find a different point of reference there than in the overall figure for the trail network.

Folsom Lake State Recreation Area offers opportunities for hiking, biking, running, camping, picnicking, horseback riding, water skiing, and boating. The range of activities includes everything from trails to water sports, picnics, and camping. Compared with a single trail, the area combines several types of recreation.

Shorelines, Winter, and a Riverside Trail

Kings Beach State Recreation Area is on the north shore of Lake Tahoe and has a sandy beach and picnic tables shaded by Jeffrey pines. The beach and shaded seating offer a different focus from the wide range of activities at Folsom Lake State Recreation Area: here, the emphasis is on spending time by the shore and taking a picnic break.

In season, Blackwood Canyon in Placer County offers cross-country skiing, dog sledding, and playing in the snow. Overnight camping is not allowed there. Unlike Blackwood Canyon’s seasonal winter activities, the Quarry Trail is open year-round.

The Quarry Trail runs 1.3 miles each way along the Middle Fork of the American River. It has a compacted aggregate surface and is open year-round. The distance is given for one way, not for the round trip; the surface and operating season offer further specific information to help you plan this trail.

Museums and Historic Sites

Griffith Quarry Museum is housed in the original office building of Penryn Granite Works. The building was constructed in 1864, so its former function and year of construction are part of the museum’s historical context. Gold Rush Museum presents the local history of the Gold Rush era. Another museum covers the history of DeWitt General Army Hospital from 1943 to 1945 and the complex’s subsequent use as DeWitt State Hospital from 1946 to 1972. The dates make clear the transition from hospital to the complex’s later use.

A museum on Fruitvale Road in Lincoln is a restored 19th-century schoolhouse. Another museum explores the history of the city of Foresthill and the surrounding Foresthill Divide region. Together with the topics of the Gold Rush and DeWitt history, these places offer different historical perspectives: a preserved schoolhouse, the development of a city and its region, and the history of a hospital complex.

Discover more destinations: Rocklin, Roseville, Colfax, Dollar Point, Foresthill, Emigrant Gap, Squaw Valley, Lincoln, Tahoma, Kings Beach, Homewood, Carnelian Bay, Alpine Meadows, Auburn, Tahoe Vista, Lake Forest, Tahoe City.

For the broader travel overview: California.