QUOTE(davburr @ Jul 21 2008, 11:04 AM)
Where are those decomposed granite trails? (thanks in advance for the info)
Just down river from the new rainbow bridge is a dirt path that begins just before the paved trail goes downhill. After the downhill it soon becomes decomposed granite, which is especially nice when it's wet out because the trail surface remains firm and doesn't get muddy.
The trail is always between the paved path and the lake/river and it goes all the way to the Aquatic Center at Hazel Avenue. There are a few hundred yards where the space between the paved trail and the lake are too narrow (up river from the island) for this path so for those stretches you have to walk along the paved path. There are numerous places where the trail is adjacent to the paved trail so you can get on this trail in many places. There are a few picnic tables along the way and some nice vistas that look across the lake. One vista is especially nice near sunset and I often see a lady doing her Tai Chi there.
On the Orangevale side of the lake/river there is a dirt path from the Nimbus dam to the new rainbow bridge. Within the first mile there are a couple of nice extensions that go out to the end of Main Avenue and you will often see flocks of turkey among the rolling hills and ducks on a hidden pond just 200 yards from the paved trail at the little footbridge.
These hills have much more prairie grass and a more remote feel than the Folsom side, and the area is especially nice in the Spring. I don't think the signs are around anymore but there are a couple of nice campsites (no facilities) in the area between the paved path and the lake near the inside of the bend in the lake. This area of the parkway is often near 1/2 mile wide (from lake to neighborhood streets).
There is a more rugged dirt path on the Orangevale side that begins about 300 yards upriver from the restored iron footbridge adjacent to Rainbow Bridge. The trail goes uphill for about 3/4 mile, and then you can take a spur trail out to a nice (private) overlook that offers a full view of Folsom and the river below. Then you can go back to the main (dirt) trail and continue upriver through an ancient olive grove and see granite road markers and road bed for the old dirt road that preceded the paved version of Folsom-Auburn Road. In about 3/4 mile you'll come to another overlook that has a good view of the prison, dam, and the new-new bridge being built.
The dirt trails on the Orangevale side are too challenging for most MTB riders so you'll rarely see them on those trails.
