The Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail (or American River Bike Trail) is a

paved Pavement may refer to: * Pavement (architecture), an outdoor floor or superficial surface covering * Road surface, the durable surfacing of roads and walkways ** Asphalt concrete, a common form of road surface * Sidewalk or pavement, a walkway ...

multi-use pathway that runs between the confluence of the

Sacramento River The Sacramento River ( es, Río Sacramento) is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento� ...

with the

American River , name_etymology = , image = American River CA.jpg , image_size = 300 , image_caption = The American River at Folsom , map = Americanrivermap.png , map_size = 300 , map_caption ...

, just north of downtown

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, and Beal's Point at

Folsom Lake Folsom Lake is a reservoir on the American River in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California, United States. It is located within Placer, El Dorado, and Sacramento Counties. It is about northeast of Sacramento. The lake surface area is , it ...

, north of

Folsom Folsom may refer to: People * Folsom (surname) Places in the United States * Folsom, Perry County, Alabama * Folsom, Randolph County, Alabama * Folsom, California * Folsom, Georgia * Folsom, Louisiana * Folsom, Missouri * Folsom, New Jerse ...

. The trail is long, and is used as a major recreational destination, as well as a commuter artery for

cyclists Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of Bicycle, cycles for transport, recreation, Physical exercise, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", ...

. The trail is considered one of the longest paved purpose-built bike trails in the country. The trail is maintained by the County of Sacramento and is painted with mile markers placed at every half-mile increment.

History

In the early 19th century, the famous

fur trapper Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket ...

Jedediah Smith explored the area east of Sacramento, between the settlement at the confluence now known as

Old Sacramento Old Sacramento State Historic Park occupies around one third of the property within the Old Sacramento Historic District of Sacramento, California. The Old Sacramento Historic District is a U.S. National Historic Landmark District. The Historic ...

, and Folsom. The area follows the course of the American River, and is rich in a diversity of

wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted ...

. In the late 19th century, the trail was marked out by a prototype cycling organization, The Capital City Wheelmen, but was soon abandoned as a viable commuter artery with the onset of automobiles in the early 20th century. The trail fell into disrepair until it was reexamined as a transportation route by cyclists in the 1970s, when the pathway was paved. A section of the trail was later added that runs along the south side of Lake Natoma and into downtown Folsom. The trail is used by approximately 5 million people annually.

Notable landmarks and attractions

The trail passes several places of interest between Sacramento and Folsom. The recreational areas of Discovery Park, Sutter's Landing Park (the point at which

John Sutter John Augustus Sutter (February 23, 1803 – June 18, 1880), born Johann August Sutter and known in Spanish as Don Juan Sutter, was a Swiss immigrant of Mexican and American citizenship, known for establishing Sutter's Fort in the area th ...

, founder of Sacramento and notable area entrepreneur, first arrived), the

Guy West Bridge The Guy West Bridge is a suspension bridge for pedestrian and bicycle traffic spanning the American River in Sacramento in Sacramento County, California, linking the campus of California State University, Sacramento with the neighboring Campus C ...

(a scaled down reproduction of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge),

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...

(or, more commonly, Sacramento State), William B. Pond Recreation Area, River Bend Park, the Fair Oaks walking bridge, the Nimbus Fish Hatchery, Lake Natoma and

. The trail runs through various parks and untouched areas, inhabited by a variety of animals. Throughout the trail, animals such as deer, western rattlesnakes, and woodpeckers can be found amongst others. As of 2020, coyotes are becoming more common along the trail, and are increasingly acclimated to the presence of people.

References

External links

*
Google map showing the trail
*http://www.arpf.org/ *http://railstotrails.us/ca-american-river-bike-trail.html *http://activities.wildernet.com/pages/area.cfm?areaid=CASAJS&cu_id=157 *https://web.archive.org/web/20060901151326/http://www.saccycle.com/bikewaymaps/map6.htm {{coord, 38, 36, 25, N, 121, 30, 06, W, type:landmark_source:enwiki-googlemaplink, display=title Bike paths in California Hiking trails in California American River (California) Protected areas of Sacramento County, California Transportation in Sacramento County, California National Recreation Trails in California