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A forgettable hike: South Fork American River Trail

Kevin Knauss

High above the south fork of the American River from the trail.

Inherently, all hikes are good. Some hikes, however, have more merit than others. The South Fork American River Trail is lacking in many of the characteristics of a good or great hike. While it is a nice trail, you need to choose carefully when you decide to hike it and where you start.

South Fork American River Trail best for horses and bikers

Mountain biker rides up South Fork American River Trail.

The full length of the trail goes from Salmon Falls Bridge to Magnolia Ranch Bureau of Land Management property next to Hiway 49. At a little over 11.5 miles one way, traversing from a starting point and then back is a real stretch of a day hike. It is a great trail for equestrians and mountain bikes, but far less thrilling for the hiker to complete in one day.

Start on the eastern side of trail

My suggestion would be to start at the eastern end of the trail and hike west. The eastern portion has the best and most scenery with several opportunities to hike down to the river for lunch. The western portion from Salmon Falls Bridge keeps you high above the river with few places for a rest stop. Greasewood is the main flora of the western portion of the South Fork American River Trail which gets old after a while of hiking.

Aerial map of South Fork American River Trail

Western side of little scenic value

Solid walls of greasewood, manzanita and poison oak are the main scenic attributes along the western part of the trail. Occasionally you get a glimpse of the river, but mostly you pray for something interesting around the next corner. The trail between Norton’s Ravine and Magnolia Ranch is the most interesting and fun to hike. While there are some steep areas like “Up and Down Trail”, you are mostly hiking along moderate foothill slopes on the eastern portion of the path.

My criteria for a good day hike include:

Horny orange caterpillar walks across the trail.

Too long for day hike

As a solid horseback or mountain bike ride, the full length of the South Fork American River Trail is great. As a total day hike, 23 mile round trip, there will be few people that will find it truly inspiring if not a down right chore. The eastern side of the trail is good anytime of the year. I would only suggest hiking the western portion if you have run out of other good treks and probably only in the fall through spring.

Photos I took along the South Fork American River Trail, click on thumbnail to enlarge.

Unique flower head of a vine that grows around the branches of poison oak.
Vulture circles over head in the morning sun.
Quiet shaded scene along the South Fork of the American River.
Real men jumping from the Salmon Falls Bridge into Folsom Lake.
Rock wall, fence?, may have been from excavation along Hastings Creek in search of gold.
Rock hopper left in Norton Ravine Creek.
Two oak branches fused making odd hole in trunk.
Norton Ravine Creek vanishes into rocks before reaching American River.
Hallmark “Loves Come Softly” cabin movie set.
Recent mining equipment along Norton Ravine Creek.
Manzanita leaves lit up by afternoon sun.
Intact skin of a lizard that had been shed along the American River.
Tossing in the raft on Greenwood Creek.
Washing dirt in a sluice on Acorn creek.
Lots of signs, but you can still take a wrong turn on the trail.
Fluffy seed head along the trail.
Part of a split and fallen tree teeters on remaining base.
Fallen oak tree outside window.
Drapes in the old cabin. Loves Come Softly movie set
Damsel fly and water bugs on Norton Creek pool
Composite flower head along trail.
Blue spotted butterfly on mechanical watch.
Found, broken square bottle of light green glass. Age?
South Fork American River Trail with river in background.
Stuffed acorns into holes drilled by woodpeckers in old fence post.
Hand painted sign “5” on barbed wire fence.
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