Folsom Lake State Recreation Area
Managed by California Department of Parks and Recreation
2,500 acres23.7 mi of trail
Browns Ravine TrailSweetwater TrailMonte Vista TrailGot'em+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in El Dorado Hills
El Dorado Hills has 78 miles of mapped trails, 1.6 for every square mile of land
3,728 acres are parks and preserves, 73 per 1,000 residents. 95% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 12% of El Dorado Hills’ land is conserved, about 3,761 acres.
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns · #97 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
3,761 acres · of 48.5 sq mi of land
Trails
78 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
3,728 ac
73 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
95%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
28 mi
13 mi lanes · 15 mi paths
Highest peak
1,312 ft
Vulture Nest Mountain
Lakes & rivers
2
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is El Dorado Hills?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does El Dorado Hills have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, El Dorado Hills is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #97 of 847 in California. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, conserved land lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of El Dorado Hills’ overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (78 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land73 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3,728 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home95% of residents within a half mile of a park · CA 91% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 96%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 89%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Folsom Lake State Recreation Area, with 23.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Blackstone Palceaid Openspace Park
Park
43 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Village Green Park
Park
20 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Blackstone CSD Park
Managed by El Dorado Hills CSD
14 acres0.5 mi of trail
Black Stone Park Nature Path
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
El Dorado Hills Community Park
Park
38 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Valley View Sports Park
Park
4 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Lake Forest Park
Park
8 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 32 parks & preserves
Folsom Lake State Recreation Area2,500 acres · 23.7 mi of trail · California Department of Parks and Recreation
DirectionsBlackstone Palceaid Openspace Park43 acres · 1 mi of trail
Town Center11 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsVillage Green Park20 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
Blackstone CSD Park14 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · El Dorado Hills CSD
El Dorado Hills Community Park38 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Valley View Sports Park4 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Lake Forest Park8 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Stephen Harris Park5 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsHeritage Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · El Dorado Hills Community Services District
DirectionsFairchild Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Kalithea Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsArt Weisburg Park9 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Creekside Greens Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsLaurel Grove Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Berkshire Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Elliot Homes Seneca Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Bella Terra Park4 acres
Crescent Ridge Park4 acres
DirectionsSellwood Field4 acres
Mormon Island Wetlands Natural Preserve3 acres
DirectionsPeter Bertelsen Park3 acres
DirectionsAllan Lindsey Park3 acres
Reid White Memorial Park2 acres
Windsor Point Park2 acres
Laurel Oaks Park1 acres
Waterford Park1 acres
Parkview Heights Park1 acres
Bayberry Circle Park1 acres
St. Andrews Park1 acres
Ridgeview 7 Park1 acres
Willian C. "Bill" McCabe Park1 acres
Who protects it
3,761 conserved acres
12% of El Dorado Hills’ land. Who manages El Dorado Hills’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks2,501 ac
Bureau of Reclamation1,452 ac
County920 ac
Regional agency197 ac
State fish & wildlife131 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits12 ac
State Recreation Area · 3,953 acLocal Park · 858 acLocal Other or Unknown · 212 acState Conservation Area · 131 acLocal Recreation Area · 47 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Folsom Lake State Recreation Area State Recreation Area | State parks | 2,501 | Open |
| Folsom Lake State Recreation Area | Bureau of Reclamation | 1,452 | Open |
| Regional Park Local Park | County | 731 | Open |
| Bass Lake Local Other or Unknown | County | 153 | Open |
| Pine Hill Ecological Reserve State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 131 | Restricted |
| Bowmen's Archery Range Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 46 | Open |
| New York Creek Nature Trail Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 27 | Open |
| EDH Community Park Local Park | Regional agency | 24 | Open |
| Ridgeview Park Local Park | County | 17 | Open |
| Teen Center & Skate Park Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 14 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
25 places to go in El Dorado Hills
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in El Dorado Hills
16 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in El Dorado Hills
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in El Dorado Hills
3 boat launches without a name on the map.
Waterfalls in El Dorado Hills
Pecker Falls
DirectionsScenic views in El Dorado Hills
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Peaks in El Dorado Hills
Vulture Nest Mountain1,312 ft elevation
DirectionsIron Mountain883 ft elevation
DirectionsMoron Point673 ft elevation · In Folsom Lake State Recreation Area
DirectionsTrails & water
25 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 27.1 miHorses · 17.9 miUnpaved · 31.4 mi
Browns Ravine Trail8.9 mi
Sweetwater Trail2.7 mi
New York Creek Trail1.5 mi
Walker Ridge Trail1.3 mi
Tong1.2 mi
Monte Vista Trail1.0 mi
Poppy Trail1.0 mi
Birdy1.0 mi
Bones0.9 mi
Buck's Creek Trail0.9 mi
15 more trails
Mitchell Trail
0.8 miGot'em
0.7 miPlums
0.7 miZimmerman Trail
0.7 miDavy Jones
0.6 miSherwood
0.6 miGolf Clap
0.6 miThe Oaks
0.6 miBull Frog Gully
0.5 miBlack Stone Park Nature Path
0.5 miNottingham
0.5 miKiller Rabbit
0.4 miHell's Grannies
0.4 miStefani Trail
0.3 miTurtle Cove
0.3 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
28 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
13 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
15 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
20Basketball
17Tennis
13Baseball
5Soccer
1Skate park
1Football
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Jacob Zentgraf HouseBuilding · listed 2025
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in El Dorado Hills: April and May
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 56 | 60 | 64 | 70 | 79 | 88 | 95 | 94 | 88 | 78 | 64 | 56 |
| Rain (in) | 5.6 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 2.9 | 5.0 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and the warmest (highs of 95 °F). 5.6 inches fall in January, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 95 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in El Dorado Hills →
Next door
El Dorado Hills and its neighbors
El Dorado Hills has the most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Dorado Hills | 12% | 1.6 | 73 | 95% | A+ |
| Cameron Park | 2% | 1.2 | 7 | 87% | B |
| Folsom | 18% | 1.4 | 40 | 92% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in El Dorado Hills
Where can I hike in El Dorado Hills?
The longest trail networks: Folsom Lake State Recreation Area, 23.7 miles; Blackstone Palceaid Openspace Park, 1 miles; Town Center, 0.7 miles; Village Green Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of El Dorado Hills is conserved land?
12% of its land, against a typical 4% for a California town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on El Dorado Hills’ trails?
Folsom Lake State Recreation Area and Blackstone Palceaid Openspace Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in El Dorado Hills?
28 miles of bike routes are on the map: 13 of painted or protected lanes and 15 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near El Dorado Hills?
42,949 acres of parks and open public land lie inside El Dorado Hills or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,892 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does El Dorado Hills have?
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #97 of 847 in California. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from El Dorado Hills neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →