American River Bike Trail (Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail) is a 28 mile heavily trafficked point-to-point trail located near Sacramento, California that features a river and is good for all skill levels. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
Jedediah Smith Trail -- also known as the American River Bike Trail -- is a paved, multi-use trail that runs along the American River. This trail is easy, with nice views of the river. It begins at Discovery Park in downtown Sacramento and ends 31 miles away in Beal's Point in Folsom. This trail has many entrances from main roads, neighborhoods, parks, lakes and railways. Accessibility: The trail surface is paved, smooth, and typically at least six feet wide. It is gentle with an estimated average grade of 1% and a max grade of 3%. Most wheelchair/mobility equipment and stroller users will find this trail navigable. There are many dirt spur trails down to the river that may be narrower and steeper. There are wheelchair accessible restrooms along the trail as all restrooms facilities within Sacramento county regional parks are ADA compliant. There is a wheelchair-accessible dock at William B. Pond Recreation Area along the trail.
Many entrances to the park via vehicle are $5 passes. Enforced by the Park Rangers at the first of spring at their booths. There are pay stations when they are not there that you "should" use. There are restrooms, water fountains, and picnic tables in multiple places along the trail.
Sacramento County Regional Parks 4040 Bradshaw Road Sacramento, CA 95827
Multiple routes on to the trail. Google maps, AllTrails, Google Earth, Sacramento Regional Park website, Effie Yeaw Nature Center and a great reference Biking and Hiking The American River Parkway book.
February 21, 2021
February 20, 2021January 23, 2021January 17, 2021January 17, 2021
January 10, 2021January 7, 2021January 2, 2021When my wife and I moved to Sacramento 3 years ago we decided to get our health in check. We purchased 2 bicycles from the Natomas Bike Shop and started peddling. We started riding the Northern Bike trail & some time later went to explore the American River trail. We parked at Discovery park and took off - and were blown away at how beautiful it was! We spent so much time stopping to capture photos, admire the scenery, stand by the river & more. However, parking at Discovery park became too risky with the people breaking into vehicles and such that we decided to park in Carmichael. We would ride to Discovery and back. We then decided to challenge ourselves by riding to Folsom and explore the Johnny Cash trail. We haven't stopped since! The trail is absolutely beautiful & rewarding. We've lost a combined total of 200+ lbs from riding our bikes and a proper diet and have also made some good friends along the way. We appreciate how well the path is maintained and how much the pedestrians & cyclists respect one another. (Well, for the most part) We absolutely love this trail.
December 26, 2020Nice in town walk to sac state, but heavy trafficked.
November 29, 2020October 25, 2020October 24, 2020Loved it.We stayed mostly off the bike trail and walked parallel on the food trail. We only encountered a few people there was plenty of bike traffic on the bike trail though. Pleasant walk shade and great views of the river.
October 17, 2020Lots of homeless & stray dogs. Nothing unfriendly, just beware.
October 15, 2020October 11, 2020We went on a Saturday and just a perfect day (70’s); not recommended for hot summer days, except for early early mornings. The trail start/end at Discovery park. There are several encampments near the discovery park end. Besides this, the trail is one of the best around the state; it is great for long ride, beautiful scenery, very few crossings (the cars have the stop sign and bikes and walkers have the right of way), the trail for the most part are well kept, some shades along the trail and many parks and stops along the way. We loved to come here except for the summer heat. The trail is flat and have many entry points along the way from adjacent neighborhoods. The path is wide for multiple bikes side by side (2 per each directions) and packed gravel on the sides could be used for hikers or horse riders for almost all of the trail. The scenery riding through the tree line path, winding trail, and the American River next to the trail have to be experienced in person to appreciate the beauty and the enjoyment of riding. We have rode almost all the bike path in the Bay Area that’s within 100 miles and this is our favorite.
September 30, 2020One of my favorite biking trails in the Sacramento area. Sutter's Landing is a good starting point if you're looking for a long ride, although there will be a gravel path for a couple miles. The trail is paved and very naturey once you get past Cal State, and from there on it gets increasingly lush and well kept. The area from William B. Pond to Folsom Lake is very pretty. This is an ideal trail for a nice long ride!
September 21, 2020This is not really a trail..maybe if I went 13-14 miles out into it, the scenery and condition may be different, but all I could see were electrical towers, wires (you can hear them buzzing), buildings, homes, helicopters flying above me and lots of trash. There were some pretty birds out and I saw one squirrel...the All Tralis and Google maps took me to the Convention Center RV Park to park, so maybe not starting at this point on the trail would make it nicer...people were parking there and walking and taking their bikes to the trail. I attemped to go on the non paved trail that is marked, but saw tents and encampments (which I understand people with no homes need a place to be too) about 5-6 feet at most to the left of me on the river, so turned around as I am new to this area and just wasn't sure of the safety as I was hiking/running alone too... I am thankful I was able to run some today, but this place was really sad and disappointing compared to the trails and parks I am used to...
September 21, 2020September 20, 2020September 19, 2020September 5, 2020August 24, 2020Very nice trail . Have seen rabbits, deers, quails, snakes and more throughout the trail
August 15, 2020Great hike for a nice run with a beautiful view. Heavily trafficked but there paths for bikers and runners so that’s supper nice and it’s mapped well with arrows even half-life or so .. shaded and nice scenery! Perfect for a picnic after your workout. I started at American river high school, there’s an entrance in the back by the basketball courts ... great for a good outdoor workout and kid friendly
August 13, 2020It is amazing. Nice views and many places to rest or drink water.
August 9, 2020Beautiful trail for bike rides and walking!
August 6, 2020Great ride. My friend’s gear broke riding up from the Rainbow Bridge into Folsom. A nice man helped get the bike moving and directed us to Mike’s Bikes in Folsom. MB’s got us going within 20 minutes and didn’t charge for the service! Excellent service. I’ll be replacing my bike next summer and Mike’s Bikes has my business.
July 25, 2020Excellent road bike trail, well maintained, lots of shade. Plenty of people and wildlife to see. A 60 miles river trail that loops around a lake. This was Chris’ 1st long distance ride with me.
June 20, 2020I would only recommend as a bike path. I walked my dog along and it was very overgrown and not kept up. A lot of homeless camps and trash. Two very mean stray dogs approached us from a camp by the river. Definitely wouldn’t recommend walking or running it!
May 31, 2020Beautiful. Do it and stretch before
